Vote now: Quarterfinals begin

We’re down to the final eight teams in our Winter 2012-13 playoffs of modern day PBL franchises to determine who you think was the best overall, ever.

Here’s a quick look at the four series we’re voting on with voting taking place on two of the quarterfinal series in the next three weeks.

Series A and B – Nov. 1-22

No. 1 Ryley Rebels (88-90) vs. No. 8 Bardo A’s (06, 08)
The No. 1 ranked Ryley Rebels in their prime led by Donny Oslund, who still is playing today, take on the scrappy Bardo Athletics. Given the A’s process of defying all odds, it wouldn’t be a stretch for them to hang in there during this series, but the odds-on favourite of winning the whole thing is the dominant Ryley Rebels of the late 80s.

No. 3 Leduc Milleteers (09-12) vs. No. 6 Armena Royals (1984)
The only back-to-back-to-back-to-back champion in modern day PBL history takes on a little-known team from the hamlet of Armena. The Royals lost in 1983 to a powerhouse Camrose team that began to fade when a few of the better Armena players left to form a team there. A win over the 1984 Ryley Rebels capped the expansion effort. We all know the Milleteers should win this series though, with their great pitching depth and finding ways to win close games.

Series B and C – Nov. 23 – Dec. 13

No. 4 Armena Axemen (02-04) vs. No. 5 Ryley Rebels (95-97)
Two powerhouses meet in the best matchup of the four quarterfinal series. The Armena Axemen franchise went to six straight league finals, winning the first three. Their dynamic metal-bat offence and duo of Scott Peterson and Joel Boettger could run into some trouble facing an older, more experienced Rebels team that revenged their ‘94 loss to Tofield and strung together three more titles until the 1998 campaign.

No. 2 Camrose Colts/RRunners (05, 07) vs. No. 11 Tofield Lakers (91, 94)
The Ofrim brothers and a bevy of Camrose police officers, including MLB drafted Jeff MacDonald look poised to defeat the Tofield Lakers of the early 90s. Tofield meets their heaviest competition after edging Holden and meeting an earlier version from the Rose City in Round Two. After the Colts franchise folded, a few join the Roadrunners in 2007 for their revenge defeat of their long-time nemesis, the Armena Axemen.