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In a tournament with very few surprising results, you guys have predictably selected all four number one seeds to make it to the final four. In three of those cases, I can't help but agree with your decisions. However, I must tell you that I'm very disappointed that the Holy Roller beat out trading away Fred Dean in his prime because ownership was too cheap to pay him. Seriously, you guys? Seriously? Obviously I suspected the Holy Roller would win (that's why I made it a #1 seed), but I held out some hope that you guys were better than that. Oh well. This semi-final matchup has one of the worst draft trades and draft picks ever going up against losing a regular season game without serious playoff implications.
You can find the complete bracket by clicking here.
What happened?
(1) On April 18, 1998 the San Diego Chargers selected Ryan Leaf out of Washington State University with the second overall pick in the NFL Draft. For the right to select the young quarterback they traded the third overall pick, a future first round pick, a second round pick, and three-time Pro Bowler Eric Metcalf to the Arizona Cardinals. Leaf would go on to have a terrible three year run with the Chargers culminating in a 1-15 season before being cut on March 2, 2001. Ryan Leaf is widely considered the greatest bust in NFL Draft history and that's without even accounting for the price the Chargers paid to move up to select him.
(1) The Holy Roller (or Immaculate Deception as Wikipedia claims Charger fans refer to it) isn't just an infamous part of the San Diego Chargers' history. It changed the rules of the game. That's the Raiders for you: cheating before it even became cheating. On September 10, 1978 the Chargers led by six with 10 seconds left on the clock. Ken Stabler took the snap from the San Diego 14 yard line and was forced out of the pocket by Woodrow Lowe. Stabler illegally fumbled the ball forward, then Pete Banaszak recovered and did the same before Dave Casper recovered in the end zone. The referees botched both calls and gave the Raiders the win.
Which was worse?
You tell us by voting in the poll and commenting below.