As always, CBS randomly selects who will play who during the upcoming season. As we all know, each team will face two foes twice, creating an unbalanced schedule. That is the life we live, because this isn’t communist Russia. So, what do we have…

WEEK ONE & TWELVE

ROBIO v ERIC Eric and I have faced off 22 times and I lead the all-time series 13-9. We’ve faced off in the playoffs just once, in the 2012 title game (which I won). Excluding the postseason, we’ve faced off twice in a season a total of four times. Twice I swept (2006, 2010), once we split (2008) and in 2015, Eric swept me. Last year, I beat E in our only meeting and I’ve taken three of the last four.

COLBY v ROB M Without knowing rosters, based solely on recent history, it appears Colby might have the biggest challenge with the double foes, starting right out of the gate with Masterson. Remember, Rob is a stunning 16-2 on opening day. Colby is just 4-12 in week one and has actually dropped six straight. Historically against Masterson, Colby isn’t too bad, actually holding a 12-11 record against the Jersey Boy, although Rob has taken three of four. Oddly enough, Colby has had great success facing Rob twice in a season. While Masterson has swept Colby twice (2004, 2006), Mr. Hall has swept Rob four times (2005, 2008, 2009 and 2010). They split in 2017.

GRIFF v MATT Griff’s least favorite foe is me, having lost 18 of 30 games. Next on his “don’t want to play” list is Neatock. Matt has taken 11 of his 17 meetings against Coomer, starting off hot winning five of their first six. This will be the first time ever these two have been scheduled to play each other twice in a season. They have faced off twice three times, thanks to the playoffs. Matt is 5-1 in those years, going 2-1 in the postseason against Griff, including the 2009 title game.

MICHAEL v DON Obviously, with just one season under his belt, there is no history of Michael’s to talk about. In their only meeting last season, it was an important one. When these two faced off in week five, they both entered the game with no defeats (both were 4-0). Don pulled out a low scoring 1,246-1,186 game. Michael would finish the year losing eight of ten games. Don would roll to a 6-0 start, before losing five of his last eight. 

RICH B v RICH C I love having the two Richards face off in week one (and twice in a season). If I took control of the schedule, I would set up rivalries like this every year. So, I would have Rich and Rich face off twice each season. I’d make Bob and Michael (high school pals) see each other twice each year, along with Robio v Griff (two original members), Masterson vs Jeff (old roommates), Colby vs Jeff (former teammates), Don vs Eric (dad vs son). The only person who doesn’t have a real rivalry is Neatock. Sorry, Matt.

Anyhow, after Rich and Rich face off twice this season, this rivalry will be tied for the second longest in league history at 28 meetings. In their 26 contests so far, Calderon holds a slim lead, 14-12. Burrier dominated earlier, winning eight of the first 11, but Calderon has taken control, winning five out of the last six. This will be the 9th time they have been booked to face off twice in a season, which is a record for two teams. Five times in the past, they split, once Calderon swept (2016), while Burrier did it twice (2004, 2011). They actually met three times in one year in Calderon’s first season. They split their regular season meetings, but Burrier beat Calderon in the semifinals in route to his first and only championship in this league back in 2003.

JEFF v BOB Since Jeff went solo, Bob has dominated, taking 10 of 13 meetings. Oddly enough, this is only the second time these two have been scheduled to face off twice in one season. The only other time it happened was in 2016 and Jeff swept both games. Besides that, the only other time Jeff beat Bob in a seasons was back in 2011. Currently, Bob is riding a three-game winning streak over Greenblatt.

WEEK TWO & THIRTEEN

BOB v ROBIO Bob has owned me, taking 17 of 26 since he joined the league in 2003. My win in week nine over Bob ended a five-year losing streak. Oddly enough, between 2003 and 2012, Bob and I faced off twice in each season, except one (2006). Six times we faced off twice in the regular season, while the other three were in the postseason. In the regular season, Bob swept me in 2004, 2007, 2009 and 2011. However, I’m 2-1 against him in the post. His one win came in the 2010 championship game.

RICH C v COLBY In week one, Colby already gets to face off against the league’s best week one team (Rob M). Worse yet, in week two, he’ll take on the team he has the most trouble with. Colby has won just five of 20 meetings against Rich Calderon. Rich won their first six meetings and has won their last three as well. In seasons where they have faced off twice, Rich is 8-2 against Colby. 

DON v GRIFF A classic All-Florida matchup. In fact, with Eric off living in Houston and me now 20 years removed, this will be the last All-Florida contest, at least until Calderon retires in a few years and moves down to Boca to retire. Anyhow, Griff and Don have faced off 22 times and surprisingly, Don has won more often, leading the series, 12-10. Neither has managed to dominant at any point, as neither of them has ever pulled off a three-game winning streak against each other. They have faced off twice in a season three times, in back-to-back-to-back seasons (2003-2005). In all three years, they split those games. Stunningly, despite the fact they are the second and third longest active members in this league, they have never faced off in the playoffs.

JEFF v ROB M We get another classic rivalry game here, as the two former roommates face off. This will be their 17th and 18th meeting, as Rob has taken nine of 16 so far. Masterson dominated early, taking seven of their first eight meetings, but in 2017 and 2018, Jeff pulled off back-to-back sweeps (going 4-0), including a quarterfinals win in 2017. If you count that playoff contest, this is the fourth straight year these two have faced off twice in a season. Last year, these two split their two meetings. Rob won in week one, Jeff got his revenge in week 12.

RICH B v ERIC Perhaps this isn’t a classic matchup, but it’s something, as it features the two teams ranked lowest in my career rankings. For Eric, there is no better foe. Excluding Mike and his one year, Burrier is the only league member Eric has a winning record against, taking 14 of their 22 meetings. Rich did manage to sweep Eric two years ago, but the four previous times they faced off twice, they split two times, while Eric swept Burrier twice.

MICHAEL v MATT These two faced off in week eight and Michael escaped with a 1,509-1,453 victory. The 56-point win was the closest game Mike had all season. Had to be weird for Neatock, who went 4-0 against the last expansion team (Pattini) the previous two years. This should be a tough one for the sophomore, as Matt is 12-5 in week two.