Commentary

Cantrell-Shepherd showdown for first

Updated: October 30, 2010, 9:27 AM ET

By Jim Wilkie | ESPN.com

Barring a tie, there will be an undisputed leader in the Alice in Chains & Friends Fantasy Football Charity League after this week's games.

[+] Enlarge Jerry Cantrell

Chiaki Nozu/WireImageJerry Cantrell's JC Aroma Of Tacoma is the league's hottest team with a three-game winning streak.

Jerry Cantrell's JC Aroma Of Tacoma and Kenny Wayne Shepherd's Team Re-Domination are tied with 5-2 records atop the league. And in a nice bit of timing, they face each other in Week 8.

After beating Duff McKagan's Team Loaded last week, Cantrell, the league's founder, was looking forward to this week's showdown and shared his thoughts on the league message board:

Costly Win
Posted: Oct 26, 11:23 p.m.
Jerry Cantrell
JC Aroma Of Tacoma

Duff was definitely ready for a fight to the death this week so I had to whip out some serious voodoo to get it done. Duff is bigger than me and has a longer reach so instead of the ring I chose the alley to equal the playing field a bit. Two buddies, two 4-2 teams and one Monday night game to settle it all.

I took my lumps, though. Looks like I lost my starting quarterback for the season to a snapped twig in the process. … Bummer.

Five games left, boys, heading into the home stretch tied at 5-2 with Kenny Wayne. Top four teams get in. Time to step up to the plate, gentlemen.

But close behind Cantrell and Shepherd are five teams tied at 4-3 who are keeping the heat on the league leaders. Those teams are Team Loaded, Zakk Wylde's Team Doom Crew Inc., Mike Inez's M.I. Evil?, Meat Loaf's Hell In A Hand Basket and Scott Ian's Fear And Loathing.

Team Loaded and Fear And Loathing face each other, so the winner will be in good shape, likely tied for second place.

Participants in the Alice in Chains & Friends Fantasy Football Charity League will each put one valuable item up for auction by the end of the season. The league champion will get to designate which charity receives the proceeds of the auction. More details on the auction will be announced in the coming weeks.

Weekly updates on the Alice in Chains & Friends Fantasy Football Charity League, trash talk and interviews with the owners will be published on ESPN.com's The Life and Music sections throughout the season. Members of the league also will drop by for occasional chats on SportsNation.

Here is a recap of Week 7 and a look ahead to Week 8's matchups:

Alice in Chains & Friends Fantasy Football Charity League overall standings

Rk	Player	Team	W	L	T	PF	PA	GB
1.	Kenny Wayne Shepherd	Team Re-Domination	5	2	0	688	576	--
Last week: Defeated Halfway Clueless 93-91 Next up: JC Aroma Of Tacoma (5-2) Team Re-Domination is a five-point underdog against JC Aroma Of Tacoma. Shepherd has just one player on a bye week (Eagles RB LeSean McCoy), but injuries are mounting. Three of his players are questionable, one is doubtful and one is out.
2.	Jerry Cantrell	JC Aroma of Tacoma	5	2	0	673	591	--
Last week: Defeated Team Loaded 87-67 Next up: Team Re-Domination (5-2) Aroma Of Tacoma dumped injured Cowboys QB Tony Romo and picked up Buccaneers QB Josh Freeman, but Cantrell will start Jets QB Mark Sanchez.
3.	Meat Loaf	Hell In A Hand Basket	4	3	0	652	596	1
Last week: Lost 87-67 to Team Doom Crew Inc. Next up: Team Harris (2-5) Hell In A Hand Basket's second-lowest scoring output of the season prompted some roster changes. Meat Loaf added Colts TE Jacob Tamme, Saints WR Lance Moore, Colts K Adam Vinatieri and the Raiders' defense and dropped Jets WR Santonio Holmes, Browns TE Benjamin Watson, Bears K Robbie Gould and the 49ers' defense.
4.	Duff McKagan	Team Loaded	4	3	0	627	632	1
Last week: Lost 87-67 to JC Aroma of Tacoma Next up: Fear And Loathing (4-3) Team Loaded has the No. 2-ranked QB, Philip Rivers of the Chargers, going up against Fear And Loathing's top-rated fantasy QB, Aaron Rodgers of the Packers. It's a push. McKagan picked up Colts RB Mike Hart, Bills QB Ryan Fitzpatrick and the Redskins' defense while he dropped Chargers WR Vincent Jackson, Patriots WR Brandon Tate and the Giants' defense.
5.	Scott Ian	Fear And Loathing	4	3	0	596	641	1
Last week: Lost 126-79 to M.I. Evil? Next up: Team Loaded (4-3) Fear And Loathing are 14-point favorites and favored in six of nine categories (two are a push) against Team Loaded. Ian added Buccaneers RB LeGarrette Blount, Saints RB Reggie Bush, Bengals K Mike Nugent and the Dolphins' defense while he dropped 49ers WR Michael Crabtree, Eagles QB Kevin Kolb, Steelers K Jeff Reed and the Ravens' defense.
6.	Zakk Wylde	Team Doom Crew Inc.	4	3	0	589	533	1
Last week: Defeated Hell In A Hand Basket 87-67 Next up: Halfway Clueless (1-6) Team Doom Crew Inc. is facing the last-place team, but Halfway Clueless is a 25-point favorite, the biggest spread of the week. Having four players (Giants RBs Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw, Giants WR Mario Manningham and Falcons K Matt Bryant) on bye weeks doesn't help.
7.	Mike Inez	M.I. Evil?	4	3	0	588	538	1
Last week: Defeated Fear And Loathing 126-79 Next up: Team Brickwall Brickwall (2-5) M.I. Evil? is just a two-point favorite over Team Brickwall Brickwall, the tightest spread of the week. Inez picked up Cowboys WR Dez Bryant and dropped Lions K Jason Hanson.
8.	Jay Harris	Team Harris	2	5	0	563	612	3
Last week: Defeated The Brickwall Brickwall 127-87 Next up: Hell In A Hand Basket (4-3) Team Harris is a three-point underdog this week and will miss No. 1-ranked WR Roddy White of the Falcons and the No. 3-ranked Bears defense, who are on bye weeks. Ravens QB Joe Flacco (seventh) is also on a bye so Harris has inserted recently added Bengals QB Carson Palmer.
9.	Vinnie Paul	The Brickwall Brickwall	2	5	0	454	604	3
Last week: Lost 127-87 to Team Harris Next up: M.I. Evil? (4-3) Team Brickwall Brickwall picked up Chiefs QB Matt Cassel because of the uncertainty with Vikings QB Brett Favre, who picked up just six points last week. Paul also has banged-up and inconsistent Titans QB Vince Young available.
10.	Matt Willig	Halfway Clueless	1	6	0	533	640	4
Last week: Lost 93-91 to Team Re-Domination Next up: Team Doom Crew Inc. (4-3) Oops, Bills WR Kenny Britt racked up 40 points last week, but Team Clueless had him on the bench in favor of Broncos WR Jabar Gaffney (five points) and Panthers WR Steve Smith (three points). Willig picked up Lions TE Brandon Pettigrew and Chiefs K Ryan Succop.