Wild Card Weekend Picks
Wild Card Weekend Lines
Note: Bets must be placed by Friday night at midnight in order to be considered on time.
Wild Card Weekend Standings
The Postseason Report
Gentlemen – 2023 is officially in the books. The early bumps in the road for many (Week 6….) put many franchises into the negative, but the league thrived in the second half of the year, with many making a push in December into the playoff conversation. With just a few weeks to go, three-quarters of the league was still in the mix, and ultimately (as is common) winning a wild card bet down the stretch was key for many franchises to get into the postseason.
Here’s a breakdown of how the league did as a whole each week:
Week 1: +$200
Week 2: +$800
Week 3: +$4,600
Week 4: +$3,100
Week 5: +$2,400
Week 6: -$9,900
Week 7: -$5,600
Week 8: +$300
Week 9: +$6,100
Week 10: +$2,300
Week 11: +$800
Week 12: +$4,800
Week 13: +$200
Week 14: -$300
Week 15: -$4,900
Week 16: -$400
Week 17: -$600
Week 18: +$5,800
That’s a cumulative total of +$9,700.
Disclaimer: The following is a completely biased report of the 2023 FMFL Season. The views, opinions, and observations that follow are those of the Executive Director and are completely subjective.
East Division
Donnie Jeffcoat
Final Total: $1,600
Winning Percentage: 0.510
Fines: $0
Wild Card Bet: Week 18 – Tampa Bay – Won
Recap: Donnie managed his way through the regular season and saved his best for last, winning $1,000 in Week 18 and sealing a spot in the playoffs.
Grade: A-
Kenny Powers
Final Total: -$200
Winning Percentage: 0.452
Fines: $100
Wild Card Bet: Week 9 – Cleveland – Won
Recap: Kenny forced his way into the playoff conversation in November, but then couldn’t get any momentum in the final month of the season.
Grade: C-
Mr. Marbles
Final Total: $1,300
Winning Percentage: 0.595
Fines: $0
Wild Card Bet: Week 18 – San Francisco – Lost
Recap: Everything was going well until the final week, when Marbles dropped the ball and missed out on his chance to win the division (and the overall crown) with a failed wild card bet. He took a risk and unfortunately it didn’t pay off this year.
Grade: B+
Neon Boudeuax
Final Total: -$900
Winning Percentage: 0.427
Fines: $100
Wild Card Bet: Week 8 – Philadelphia – Won
Recap: Neon faded away as the weeks went by in the second half of the year, and his winning percentage was flimsy for most of the year. He’ll turn to 2024 to try to get back on track.
Grade: D+
Patrick Bateman
Final Total: $2,300
Winning Percentage: 0.636
Fines: $0
Wild Card Bet: Week 18 – Tennessee – Won
Recap: Bateman battled with Mr. Marbles most of the season and grabbed the East crown with a Week 18 wild card win. His impressive winning percentage should be feared by those in the postseason.
Grade: A
Shecky
Final Total: -$1,300
Winning Percentage: 0.474
Fines: $200
Wild Card Bet: Week 6 – San Francisco – Lost
Recap: Shecky showed signs of life in the second half (oddly enough, just as the Browns went on a winning streak…..), but it wasn’t enough to overcome a rough first half of the season.
Grade: D
The People’s Champ
Final Total: -$2,900
Winning Percentage: 0.393
Fines: $900
Wild Card Bet: Week 18 – Pittsburgh – Won
Recap: Mark this season as one the Champ would like to forget. It would have looked a lot worse without his Week 18 wild card win.
Grade: D-
Tony Montana
Final Total: $1,500
Winning Percentage: 0.611
Fines: $200
Wild Card Bet: Week 6 – San Francisco – Lost
Recap: Early setbacks and a couple of fines along the way couldn’t stop Tony from reaching the playoffs. He went perfect in Week 18 to rise above the contenders and will turn his eyes to the second season.
Grade: A-
North Division
Babe
Final Total: $200
Winning Percentage: 0.500
Fines: $300
Wild Card Bet: Week 16 – Baltimore – Won
Recap: Babe never got too high or low in 2023, and when he started to make a push midseason, he was quickly brought back down below zero. He finished exactly even in terms of winning percentage on the year.
Grade: C
Biff Tannen
Final Total: $1,400
Winning Percentage: 0.565
Fines: $0
Wild Card Bet: Week 6 – San Francisco – Lost
Recap: A sizable comeback by Biff, who had a brutal first half of the year, but stacked up wins in November and December to get back into the mix. A perfect Week 18 has given him a ticket to the playoffs.
Grade: A-
Boss Hardigan
Final Total: $1,300
Winning Percentage: 0.564
Fines: $0
Wild Card Bet: Week 2 – Las Vegas – Lost
Recap: Hardigan dug himself a big hole early in the year and stayed relevant long enough to get just $100 from getting back to the postseason. Next year, he’ll try not to take such a soft approach to the beginning of the year.
Grade: B+
Luther Lavay
Final Total: $2,700
Winning Percentage: 0.646
Fines: $0
Wild Card Bet: Week 4 – LA Chargers – Won
Recap: Luther was almost a wire-to-wire leader this season, capitalizing on a strong start and enjoying a comfortable lead most of the year. He made it interesting down the stretch but pulled away with the overall regular season title with a perfect Week 18.
Grade: A+
OJ
Final Total: $900
Winning Percentage: 0.533
Fines: $0
Wild Card Bet: Week 8 – Indianapolis – Lost
Recap: OJ was another franchise that had a hard road back after a tough first half. He made a solid push in December but ultimately came up short.
Grade: B
The Beard of Zeus
Final Total: $1,300
Winning Percentage: 0.520
Fines: $600
Wild Card Bet: Week 17 – Chicago – Won
Recap: No bets one week late in the season was the difference between The Beard making the playoffs and being on the outside looking in.
Grade: B+
The Big Hurt
Final Total: $0
Winning Percentage: 0.547
Fines: $100
Wild Card Bet: Week 6 – San Francisco – Lost
Recap: A mediocre year for TBH, who had a strong winning percentage but was weighed down by his Week 6 failure. It was too much for him to handle in 2023.
Grade: C-
Waldo Geraldo Faldo
Final Total: $1,000
Winning Percentage: 0.628
Fines: $1,300
Wild Card Bet: Week 12 – Pittsburgh – Won
Recap: Waldo finished $400 behind the final playoff spot. He had $1,300 in fines. You do the math.
Grade: B-
South Division
Chalky Studebaker
Final Total: $1,400
Winning Percentage: 0.573
Fines: $100
Wild Card Bet: Week 18 – Detroit – Won
Recap: Chalky was at the top of the division the entire season and just missed out on the South title. He’s pushed into the playoffs and will have a second chance to winning some money.
Grade: A-
Chris B. Corey
Final Total: -$600
Winning Percentage: 0.500
Fines: $600
Wild Card Bet: Week 5 – Detroit – Won
Recap: CBC was in the negative for the entire 2023 campaign and didn’t make much noise in the South.
Grade: C-
Karl Farbman
Final Total: -$2,500
Winning Percentage: 0.389
Fines: $0
Wild Card Bet: Week 15 – Cincinnati – Lost
Recap: A second half plummet from Karl that featured a month without a winner and a lost wild card bet makes 2023 his worst performance to date.
Grade: F
Karl Hungus
Final Total: -$1,400
Winning Percentage: 0.446
Fines: $100
Wild Card Bet: Week 6 – San Francisco – Lost
Recap: Hungus hovered around -$1,000 for most of the year and may want to return to his Buffalo-only betting strategy in 2024.
Grade: D+
Rick Moranis
Final Total: $1,900
Winning Percentage: 0.578
Fines: $0
Wild Card Bet: Week 18 – Detroit – Won
Recap: Rick fired a final shot in Week 18, winning $1,000 and taking the division crown, the first time he held the division lead all season. Now he’ll try for something that has historically eluded him: postseason success.
Grade: A
T-Ferg
Final Total: -$1,500
Winning Percentage: 0.436
Fines: $200
Wild Card Bet: Week 6 – San Francisco – Lost
Recap: For a usually strong franchise, T-Ferg had little impact this year, and count him as another one that got too far behind in the first six weeks of the season.
Grade: D-
Thine
Final Total: -$1,400
Winning Percentage: 0.511
Fines: $600
Wild Card Bet: Week 13 – Denver – Lost
Recap: Thine’s season took a turn in Week 13 and the rest of the year was a downward spiral into nothingness.
Grade: D-
Yaz
Final Total: -$500
Winning Percentage: 0.486
Fines: $0
Wild Card Bet: Week 6 – San Francisco – Lost
Recap: Yaz was never a serious threat in the division in 2023, and might want to bet the opposite in 2024.
Grade: D+
West Division
Bayonnaise
Final Total: $300
Winning Percentage: 0.476
Fines: $0
Wild Card Bet: Week 10 – San Francisco – Won
Recap: An awful first half was nearly salvaged by a second half push, but he couldn’t put the exclamation mark on the comeback in the final three weeks of the season.
Grade: C
Blossom Russo
Final Total: -$1,500
Winning Percentage: 0.444
Fines: $0
Wild Card Bet: Week 5 – Baltimore – Lost
Recap: There’s always next year, Blossom…..
Grade: D-
Bud Fox
Final Total: $2,000
Winning Percentage: 0.529
Fines: $100
Wild Card Bet: Week 16 – Cleveland – Won
Recap: Bud managed his money will in the final months of the season and was close to the division crown. Is this the year he wins the postseason title?
Grade: A
Don Mattingly
Final Total: $1,700
Winning Percentage: 0.585
Fines: $0
Wild Card Bet: Week 18 – Cincinnati – Won
Recap: Don parlayed a Week 18 wild card into a postseason berth, where he’ll try to win a cash prize for the first time.
Grade: A-
Judge Smails
Final Total: -$500
Winning Percentage: 0.458
Fines: $200
Wild Card Bet: Week 15 – Cincinnati – Lost
Recap: Smails was hanging tough until the final quarter of the year, and then his wild card loss was the final nail in his coffin.
Grade: C-
Kiko Garcia
Final Total: $100
Winning Percentage: 0.530
Fines: $0
Wild Card Bet: Week 18 – Baltimore – Lost
Recap: Kiko looked to be in control of the West in Week 15, but it was nothing from pain from there on out, punctuated by a failed wild card bet in the final week of the season.
Grade: C
Larisa Oleynik
Final Total: $2,200
Winning Percentage: 0.628
Fines: $0
Wild Card Bet: Week 6 – San Francisco – Lost
Recap: In Week 14, Larisa was at $500 and in fifth place in the division, but then got hot down the stretch to win the West title.
Grade: A
The Notorious ABT
Final Total: -$200
Winning Percentage: 0.490
Fines: $0
Wild Card Bet: Week 17 – Indianapolis – Push
Recap: A push for his big bet, a subpar winning percentage, and finishing in the negative for 2023. Not much to be excited about after a medium year.
Grade: C-
Postseason Report: Winning Percentages
Postseason Report: Total Wagers
Postseason Report: Wild Card Bets
Postseason Report: Fines
2023 Playoff Field
The 2023 playoff field is set:
Biff Tannen
Bud Fox
Chalky Studebaker
Don Mattingly
Donnie Jeffcoat
Larisa Oleynik
Luther Lavay
Patrick Bateman
Rick Moranis
Tony Montana
Final Standings
