Playoffs? You kidding me? Playoffs?

As another fascinating IShoe football regular season concludes (more on that later), we come to the playoffs. Below, a quick analysis of the semi-finals:

Matchup 1: Brothers in Arms

The who: #1 Greece Lightning (10-4) v. #4 Athens Panathinaikos (7-7)

The line: Greece -2.

Notes: After racing to a 7-0 start, GL has come back to earth, alternating wins and losses and finishing 3-4 over the second half of the season.... Completely dependent on the remarkable Green Bay passing game, GL is at the mercy of the right arm of Aaron Rodgers ("Rodgers!!!"), which has been a good place to be this season.... possessing remarkable depth, GL lost likely pro-bowlers Fred Jackson and Matt Forte for the year but soldiers on with less exciting, but suitable RB options in Darren Sproles and Cedric "Not Entertaining" Benson.... the RB's need only be average if the passing game - featuring Vincent "Franchise This Bitch" Jackson, Miles "Tony I'm Over Here" Romo, and Jordy "No Way Am I White" Nelson - performs.

Roaring back from 4-6 to finish 7-7, Athens looks to topple his brother yet again....Despite the .500 record, Athens matches up favorably in Round 1, as his RB's (Rice, McGahee, Jackson) are far superior to anything GL has to offer... QB Matthew Stafford has a ++ matchup against a decimated Oakland team this week... #2 overall TE Jimmy Graham is a huge weapon... Athens is the most well rounded team in the playoffs, offering solid diversity against GL's one-team show.... can diversity prevail in a one-week battle?

Lineup Choices: For GL, none. For Athens, the Jackson/McGahee/Laurent Robinson question.

Sleepers: GL's VJax has been hit or miss. Do GL's chances ride with him this week? Will Willis McGahee dominate New England's horrible D or take a backseat to Lance "Look into it" Ball?

Prediction: Roddy White goes for 80 yds and a TD to stake Athens to an early lead which is erased by GL's Green Bay players on Sunday, but Rodgers "only" throws 3 TD's on his way to 28 fantasy points. Sproles and Benson combine for a respectable 22 points but Ray Rice racks up more than that by himself on Sunday night to bring Athens within 5 pts of the lead. Pittsburgh's D keeps the game close enough and scores 8 pts on Monday night to score the upset. Athens, 104-101.

Matchup 2: Legacies

The who: #2 Manimals (10-4) v. #3 Kapitalizm Stompers (8-6)

The line: Stompers -10

Notes: The league's luckiest team, the #2 seed Manimals went 5-1 to start the season and clinched a playoff berth with two weeks left in the regular season... multiple trades have transformed the Manimals and starters Ben Roethlisberger, Larry Fitzgerald, and Antonio Gates all began the regular season on different teams... but the Manimals have relied on the same 3 unexciting RB's: Turner, McFadden/Bush, and Greene.... this week is no different, as the three need to combine for 50+ pts to give the Manimals a chance.

Staying the course despite an 0-3 start, the defending champion Stompers have earned their chance to defend the 2010 league title behind rookie sensation Cam Newton.... Also led by 3 (better) RB's in MJD, CJ2K, and Arian Foster, the Stompers are well positioned to make their defense.... While RB production has been excellent, the Stompers need something from their WR's, with Hakeem Nicks coming on strong in recent weeks.... Santonio Holmes has yet to break 100 yds receiving on the year, but has 7 TD's.... Tony Gonzalez never gets old.

Lineup Choices: For the Manimals, injured QB Ben Roethlisberger or rookie Jake Locker? Will Jeremy Maclin be healthy enough to lock down a roster spot? For the Stompers, none.

Sleepers: Manimals Locker or WR Demaryius Thomas. If either or both are starting, both are boom/bust options. For Stompers, CJ2K was benched in his first game v. Indy. This is his shot at redemption.

Prediction: Stompers race out to a 30-8 lead after Thursday night, then build on it 60 points in Sunday's early games. Leading 90-15 going into the late games, the Manimals mount a furious charge led by Shonn Greene and Michael Bush, closing to 90-68 going into Sunday night. Despite a good game from Antonio Gates, Manimals trail 98-80 going into Monday night, where Ben Roethlisberger, hobbled and all, comes up just short. Stompers, 98-95.