Winter 2014 Week 8 Matchups

From 1/19/2014 - 1/25/2014
(BOLD - DIVISION GAMES)

FEATURED GAMES

LaGuardia (6-2) 39.7 vs. JFK Airport (5-3) 50.2 - LaGuardia is coming in on the heels of their first loss of the season. Can they rebound against divisional rival JFK Airport or will JFK Airport close the gap?
Trenton (6-2) 39.1 vs. Bangor (5-3) 39.8 - Even though Trenton's record is superior than Bangor's, one has to think Bangor is favored here. It's mid-January after all. But this week's pattern may favor Trenton with a clipper impacting the Mid-Atlantic coast on Tuesday. Will it be enough though?
Providence (8-0) 37.4 vs. Windsor Locks (3-5) 31.3 - Providence is running away with the division with the other three CT towns having trouble keeping pace. This is a critical game for Windsor Locks if they want to close the gap.

OTHER GAMES

Worcester (8-0) 45.9 vs. Burlington (3-5) 41.2
Caribou (6-2) 42.8 vs. Atlantic City (4-4) 35.6
Concord (6-2) 30.1 vs. Bennington (3-5) 28.2
Bradford (4-4) 33.7 vs. Syracuse (4-4) 39.1
Washington D.C. (4-4) 33.8 vs. Islip (4-4) 43.2
Buffalo (6-2) 54 vs. Central Park (2-6) 30.1
Philadelphia (4-4) 49.7 vs. Pittsburgh (3-5) 37.3
Taunton (3-5) 26.3 vs. Binghamton (4-4) 31
Boston (6-2) 38.6 vs. Albany (1-7) 31.4
Pittsfield (4-4) 29.5 vs. Bridgeport (2-6) 36.3
Portland (6-2) 28.4 vs. Willimantic (0-8) 27.1
Harrisburg (2-6) 29.4 vs. Baltimore (3-5) 34.5
Montpelier (2-6) 33 vs. Rutland (1-7) 28.9

COMMENTARY

1/26/2014 1:55PM - It was an interesting week! There were lots of tight matches heading into the last day. Bangor managed to battle back from a near 4 point deficit against Trenton by beating Trenton in all 3 criterias - low temps, precip, and winds. It was an important win for them to stay within one game behind the top leaders of the division (Caribou, Portland, Concord)...all three of them won their respective matches. Got to give some credit to Willimantic, they fought a good battle and came within 1.3 points of upsetting Portland but to no prevail. Seems like it was off day for Portland and Willimantic ALMOST took advantage. At the end of the week though, Willimantic is still without a W in the win column and they'll have to face Worcester next. Prayers needed.

Providence is racing neck to neck with Worcester after beating Windsor Locks and if they both win this week, they are scheduled to clash on Super Bowl Sunday with 9-0 records! I said *if* because Providence meets Caribou this week which is not an easy W for sure. It looks like a mainly dry stretch so that should bode well for Caribou with their low temps. Even so, it's going to be a phenomenal battle between the top two cities of the league!

Other results to note: JFK Airport manhandled LaGuardia and now within one game out of the divisional lead. Islip has a 4-game winning streak rolling after downing Washington D.C. Incredible considering they started the season 0-4! Bridgeport upsets Pittsfield 36.3-29.5, capturing their second win of the season.

The weekly "Top Honors" Award goes to Buffalo with 54 points, who handled Central Park easily. If you followed the Twitter feed, you know that Central Park had issues with wind obs in particular. That seems to be resolved today which is good news and fortunately, there is no need for a backup city at the moment. I'm hoping it was only a minor glitch and that there are no more issues in the future. Central Park is heading in the opposite direction as Islip, losing 6 straight after starting the season 2-0. Second place goes to JFK Airport (50.2 points) and third place goes to Philadelphia (49.7 points), who had a foot of snow from Tuesday's storm.

1/23/2014 10:05PM - @NEXWL: If Central Park continues to have the issue, we may have to substitute another one. Possible replacements: Newark NJ (likely) or Teterboro

@NEXWL: Central Park (KNYC) has not reported a wind observation in the last 7 days. Anyone know what's wrong? http://www.nws.noaa.gov/data/BOX/CF6NYC

1/19/2014 9:30PM - This week will feature arctic air rushing into the Northeast for the upcoming days. Many will make it to the single digits and teens...probably below zero for the northern country. Also, a clipper system is expected to form and impact Tuesday-Tuesday night with snow from DC up to SNE, especially along the coastlines. With the cold air surging in, it won't take much for accumulations and there may be some surprises...hmmm. Models are hinting at another end of the week snowfall opportunity so that's another thing to look forward to. Always stay up to date here on the scores and follow @NEXWL for updates!