It has been a long season and an even longer wait for this years playoffs to begin.  However, we are just days away from one of the most anticipated playoff series to begin the week of December 21, 2009.  The match-ups for the playoffs this year will put the Number 1 seeded Utah Jacks vs. the Number 4 Arizona Rays and the Number 2 Safford Yard Dogs vs. the  Number 3 Lordsburg Lions.  All four teams have an equal chance of making it into the championship series as the first round will be a one game series.  The championship series is scheduled for a five game series and should be one talked about for years to come.  Let us take a closer look at each team in the opening round series.

The Utah Jacks are coming off what is probably its teams best year in league history.  They post a league best record of 7 wins and 2 losses.  There is one discouraging note as their star Clifton Labrum will be sidelined from a serious back injury.  He will be playing a different role in this years playoffs and that is managing his team instead of playing of it in the playoffs.  This will make for an interesting series against the Arizona Rays.

The Arizona Rays are coming off a pretty good season, only to find themselves in the lowest seed team to make the playoffs.  This season their star player Brandon Kempton has played a lot of games in the league, but it turns out that some other teams have a little bit better records than his team.  Although the Rays are the lower seeded team, they are not considered the underdog in this series.  With Clifton out and the fact that Brandon hits for a ton every game, the Rays are the odds on favorite to win this series.  However, one thing the league has learned is that you can never count on "The Jack Attack" to just roll over and die.  This series will definitely be one we will all be talking about in the future.

In the other series, the Safford Yard Dogs, are making what appears to be their 8th straight post season.  Mark Smith led his team to 25 victories this season and the 26th win definitely seems possible.  His Yard Dogs will be facing a new team to the league this year in the Lordsburg Lions.  If Mark choses to break up the father and son combination when he constructs his team, there is a good chance we will see his team in the Championship series.  If he allows the father and son tandem stay together, the series will be another one talked about for years to come. 

The Lordsburg Lions will make their first post season appearance in their first year of the league.  The Lions star player is Nathan Kempton, son of Brandon Kempton.  Based on statistics, Nathan has actually has one more games without his father this season, which is a slight surprise to the media.  Although, if Nathan is able to have his father on his team, it certainly wouldn't hurt his chances of winning the series and going to the championship series.  No matter what hapens, this series will definitely be remembered by all those who play in it.

There you have it, the match-ups for the 2009 playoffs.  Who will triumph and go on to the next round?  It is difficult to foresee.  However, one thing is for sure, everyone will be talking about the 2009 playoffs for years to come.  Congratulations to all the teams who made it to the playoff party.  You all definitely deserve to be there.  Good Luck to all the teams and players.  There is no doubt that the end of the 2009 season will be both fine and devine.