It's a bye week for the Sendai 89ers, and the perfect time to take stock of their season through 32 games.
The 89ers (16-16) are in sixth place in the Eastern Conference, and if the playoffs started today, they would advance to postseason play.
Sendai is 10-8 on the road. The club is .500 or better against six East foes: Hamamatsu (1-1), Toyama (2-2), Niigata (2-0), Chiba (2-2), Shinshu (2-0) and Iwate (2-0). The 89ers have lost three of four against Akita, head coach Bob Pierce's former club.