URK 2011: Midseason Awards!

Okay, so we're only halfway through, but it's a bit fun to vote on how things are going. Now that 75% of eligible voters have turned in a ballot, we can post these midseason awards. Most of the voting was done after week 7, with a few others coming in after week 8, so none of this week’s results were taken into account except for those with exceptional foresight. Scoring is out of a possible 27 points (3 points for first place vote, 2 for second, 1 for third). Congrats to the winners!

Best Coach: Z Power (15)

Runner-Up: Stars (12)
The Z’s get the nod for guiding their team to the best record in the league so far through a combination of savvy drafting and keen play-calling skills.

Worst Coach: Minions (18)
Runner-Up: SayHi2YourMother4Me (13)
Cleveland does not rock.

Luckiest Team: Bacon Cheeseburgers (18)
Runner-Up: Z Power (15)
At the beginning of the year, the Cheeseburgers were racking up the victories despite scoring significantly less than teams directly above and below them in the standings. Sounds like luck to me!

Unluckiest Team: A Sheep at the Wheel (21)
Runner-Up: The Dyin’ SharkLions (10)
And on the flip side, the Sheep were scoring decently but not winning (in fact, they’re still outscoring the Cheeseburgers as of this writing, but with 3 more losses). Oh, and Chris Johnson has been terrible.

Biggest Surprise (Better than Expectations): Stars (19)
Runner-Up: Jehovah’s Jockstrap (10)
As the Stars ripped off a four game win streak to start the year, I think we all were taken aback. Unfortunately some killer injuries (they’ve probably suffered the worst losses of anybody thus far) have taken some of the steam out of their start.

Biggest Surprise (Worse than Expectations): A Sheep at the Wheel (25)
Runner-Up: The Dyin’ SharkLions (12)
When you’ve won the league twice and are a perennial top-tier team, any down year is a shocker.

Most Liked Team: Stars (13)
Runners-Up: Jehovah’s Jockstrap/Obese Geese (10)
I suspect the Stars take this for being surprisingly successful without making much noise about it. It’s that good old blue-collar work ethic us Midwesterners love.

Most Hated Team: Z Power (20)
Runner-Up: A Sheep at the Wheel (15)
Every league needs a good villain. Especially one that is better than everyone else and has no shame telling you so.

Most Likely to Win the Championship: Z Power (21)
Runner-Up: Bacon Cheeseburgers (11)
No surprises here; vote for the top team in the standings and points. But just remember, no one has won the championship from that position yet in the five years of the URK (cue sad sighs from: the ’10 Hot Showers, the ’09 Ritzy Blitzers, the ’08 Home Pwners, the ’07 Blind Squirrels, and (seriously) the ’06 Meyer Minions).

Most Likely to End the Season Sitting in Front of the TV and Crying: Minions (20)
Runner-Up: SayHi2YourMother4Me (13)
One win? Check. The bottom of the barrel every year except last year? Check. Yep, this is a pretty safe choice.