The Postseason Report
Gentlemen – Another regular season in the books. Going into the final weeks of the season, more than two-thirds of the league was still in striking distance of the playoffs, more than in past years. However, two of the divisional races were clear runaways (even at the midpoint of the season), while the other two were closer battles. We ended the year with the final postseason spot at $400, which is on par with previous seasons, save for last year when -$700 would have given you a playoff berth.
Here’s a breakdown of how the league did as a whole each week:
Week 1: -$7,400
Week 2: +$400
Week 3: +$5,200
Week 4: -$2,800
Week 5: -$1,400
Week 6: -$1,900
Week 7: +$1,200
Week 8: -$1,200
Week 9: -$500
Week 10: +$4,200
Week 11: -$3,100
Week 12: -$1,600
Week 13: -$5,400
Week 14: +$3,200
Week 15: +$4,900
Week 16: -$2,700
Week 17: -$1,900
The final 2014 cumulative total was -$10,800, which is more proof why the sportsbooks won’t be filing for bankruptcy anytime soon.
Disclaimer: The following is a completely biased report of the 2014 FMFL season. The views, opinions, and observations that follow are those of the Executive Director and are completely subjective.
East Division
Art Schlichter
Current Total: $300
Winning Percentage: 0.486
Fines: $0
Wild Card Bet: Week 7 – Dallas – Won
Recap: Despite an up-and-down second half, Art was in the playoff mix down the stretch and finished just outside the postseason field. He was one of many franchises one or two picks away from having a very different season.
Grade: B-
Babe
Current Total: -$1,200
Winning Percentage: 0.457
Fines: $200
Wild Card Bet: Week 4 – Atlanta – Lost
Recap: Babe showed signs of life in the second half of the year after an arduous first half of the season. However, it wasn’t enough to make a run in the East, where he occupied the basement for most of the year.
Grade: D+
Don Mattingly
Current Total: $100
Winning Percentage: 0.461
Fines: $0
Wild Card Bet: Week 8 – New Orleans – Won
Recap: The Donald peaked at $1,600 and then plummeted down the standings during November. One might question his aggressive betting strategy when he had a decent-sized lead over the rest of the division.
Grade: C+
Gordon Bombay
Current Total: $400
Winning Percentage: 0.578
Fines: $0
Wild Card Bet: Week 11 – New England – Won
Recap: Gordon is always one of those franchises who finds a way to be in the conversation come December and this year was no different. He won his wild card in Week 11 and stayed the course until the end of the year, grabbing one of the final playoff berths.
Grade: B
Karl Farbman
Current Total: $1,800
Winning Percentage: 0.568
Fines: $0
Wild Card Bet: Did Not Use
Recap: Karl was even at the midpoint of the season, and then came on strong in the second half, getting hot at the right time. He won the East Division, but wasn’t able to track down the league leaders for the overall title.
Grade: A-
T-Ferg
Current Total: -$500
Winning Percentage: 0.436
Fines: $0
Wild Card Bet: Week 10 – Seattle – Won
Recap: T-Ferg made a run after his wild card win in Week 10, but then faltered in the last few weeks and crawled across the finish line to end the season. This is a big improvement on his 2013 performance, but obviously a season without making the playoffs is a disappointment.
Grade: C+
The Big Hurt
Current Total: -$900
Winning Percentage: 0.411
Fines: $200
Wild Card Bet: Week 12 – Seattle – Won
Recap: September was kind to The Big Hurt, but the rest of the season was quite rough. There were flashes of brilliance but the late bets and miscues down the stretch ultimately spelled doom for TBH.
Grade: C-
Waldo Geraldo Faldo
Current Total: $1,100
Winning Percentage: 0.542
Fines: $600
Wild Card Bet: Week 9 – Pittsburgh – Won
Recap: WGF had a stellar second half of the season, which began with his Week 9 wild card win. His winning percentage is solid, and really the only thing that prevented him from a division crown was one week of not making bets. Waldo will be a player to watch in the postseason.
Grade: B+
North Division
Abe Froman
Current Total: -$1,800
Winning Percentage: 0.462
Fines: $200
Wild Card Bet: Week 13 – Cincinnati – Lost
Recap: A disappointing rookie season for Abe in the FMFL, which basically ended when his Bengals wild card bet went kaput. He also bet two teams every week down the stretch hoping to catch lightning in a bottle, but it was not to be.
Grade: D+
Bayonnaise
Current Total: -$2,000
Winning Percentage: 0.473
Fines: $600
Wild Card Bet: Week 5 – New Orleans – Lost
Recap: After multiple seasons in the playoffs, the ‘Naise stumbled in 2014. Losing his wild card and not making his bets one week were too much to overcome in the second half of the year, as Bayonnaise sat at the bottom of the North Standings for most of the season.
Grade: D
Kenny Powers
Current Total: $2,600
Winning Percentage: 0.600
Fines: $0
Wild Card Bet: Week 8 – Houston – Won
Recap: Kenny was head and shoulders ahead of the rest of the FMFL in the regular season. He hit on 60% of his bets, won his wild card, and was consistently adding to his bankroll the entire season. Now he travels into uncharted waters – the postseason.
Grade: A
Larisa Oleynik
Current Total: -$1,100
Winning Percentage: 0.500
Fines: $300
Wild Card Bet: Week 9 – San Diego – Lost
Recap: Larisa focused on betting mainly big time favorites in the 2014 season, with nine bets on New England and nine bets on Green Bay. Unfortunately this strategy led to a 0.500 record, so that coupled with a wild card loss leaves Larisa out of the playoffs this year.
Grade: C-
OJ
Current Total: $600
Winning Percentage: 0.518
Fines: $0
Wild Card Bet: Did Not Use
Recap: OJ was a model of consistency this year, never going too high or too low. However, he never seriously challenged for the division since Kenny was so far ahead. For an inaugural campaign, he’s done quite well, but the postseason is a different animal.
Grade: B+
Shecky
Current Total: -$3,800
Winning Percentage: 0.341
Fines: $0
Wild Card Bet: Week 10 – Pittsburgh – Lost
Recap: Shecky’s lead balloon second half included a three week stretch in which he lost $2,000. After that, it was all over. He’ll look to turn things around in his sophomore season.
Grade: F
The People’s Champ
Current Total: -$2,100
Winning Percentage: 0.408
Fines: $0
Wild Card Bet: Week 16 – Detroit – Lost
Recap: The People’s Champ made some moves late in the season and was on the brink of a miraculous comeback until his Week 16 wild card loss. You can’t ignore his 41% record as something that held him back in another lost season.
Grade: D+
The Phoenix
Current Total: -$600
Winning Percentage: 0.500
Fines: $400
Wild Card Bet: Week 13 – Cincinnati – Lost
Recap: After leading the way for much of the first half of the season, The Phoenix fell back into his losing ways in the second half. He made late bets, lost his wild card, and couldn’t pick a winner.
Grade: C-
South Division
Bud Fox
Current Total: -$400
Winning Percentage: 0.489
Fines: $0
Wild Card Bet: Week 10 – Pittsburgh – Lost
Recap: Bud had a miserable finish to the 2014 season. He lost $1,000 over the last two weeks and instead of coasting into the playoffs, he’s on the outside looking in. Considering that he was challenging for the division title in the South for most of the year, December was definitely a disappointment.
Grade: B-
Chris B. Corey
Current Total: -$2,100
Winning Percentage: 0.372
Fines: $200
Wild Card Bet: Week 9 – Kansas City – Won
Recap: Chris is back and the rest of the league is happy for his donation to the league. He only hit 37% of his bets and aside from a Week 9 wild card win, 2014 had few highlights for him.
Grade: D-
Face
Current Total: -$2,100
Winning Percentage: 0.431
Fines: $400
Wild Card Bet: Week 12 – Atlanta – Lost
Recap: Face never seemed to get it going this season, and his chronic late bets held back any chance he had for turning things around in the second half of the year.
Grade: D-
Kiko Garcia
Current Total: $1,400
Winning Percentage: 0.552
Fines: $0
Wild Card Bet: Week 2 – New England – Won
Recap: Kiko rode his early wild card win to an easy divisional title. Each of the other franchises in the South fell off, and betting three and four games each week allowed him to keep his lead and get back into the playoffs. He has an axe to grind, too, after last season’s tiebreaker loss in the Super Bowl.
Grade: A-
Kimmy Gibbler
Current Total: $200
Winning Percentage: 0.486
Fines: $0
Wild Card Bet: Week 5 – Seattle – Won
Recap: Gibbler was the franchise who knocked Kiko out in the final game last year, but it was not to be for her in 2014. She couldn’t get back above even money until the final week of the season, and by then it was too little, too late.
Grade: B-
Mr. Marbles
Current Total: $0
Winning Percentage: 0.444
Fines: $0
Wild Card Bet: Week 10 – Denver – Won
Recap: Considering how the season started for Marbles, his second half turnaround was quite remarkable. Yet, he couldn’t put together two winners in December when it counted and was one win from making the playoffs.
Grade: C+
The 21th Precinct
Current Total: -$1,200
Winning Percentage: 0.475
Fines: $0
Wild Card Bet: Week 11 – Detroit – Lost
Recap: A wild card loss buried the Precinct this year, and he will look to turn things around next season. He will need to improve on his winning percentage, but he’s not far off.
Grade: C-
The Beard of Zeus
Current Total: -$2,200
Winning Percentage: 0.412
Fines: $0
Wild Card Bet: Week 11 – Cleveland – Lost
Recap: A strong finish is somewhat masking how putrid the Beard’s performance was in 2014, including a three week stretch in which he lost $1,600.
Grade: D
West Division
Blossom Russo
Current Total: $700
Winning Percentage: 0.574
Fines: $100
Wild Card Bet: Week 11 – Denver – Lost
Recap: Blossom’s season was a few plays away from being brilliant. She won 57% of his bets, but lost her wild card and had some bad luck in the middle of the year, but managed to back into the postseason.
Grade: B+
Boss Hardigan
Current Total: $400
Winning Percentage: 0.500
Fines: $0
Wild Card Bet: Week 15 – Denver – Won
Recap: A Week 15 surge vaulted Boss Hardigan above all of the contenders and got him into the playoffs. He had a ho-hum year when you look at his stats, but he got hot at the right time and is invited to the postseason dance.
Grade: B
Dr. Oge
Current Total: -$400
Winning Percentage: 0.482
Fines: $0
Wild Card Bet: Week 17 – Baltimore – Push
Recap: Oge bet many, many games in 2014, and a slide in December put him below 0.500 after a consistent start to the season. His playoff fate was determined by a Week 17 push. A win would have put him into the playoffs. It’s a game of inches.
Grade: C+
Rick Moranis
Current Total: $1,800
Winning Percentage: 0.558
Fines: $0
Wild Card Bet: Week 13 – Buffalo – Won
Recap: Rick put the pedal to the metal in the second half of the year and went down to the wire with Ron for the West title. Those tricky Arizona Cardinals have proven to be his kryptonite this season. Yet, he’ll march triumphantly into the playoffs.
Grade: A-
Ron Mexico
Current Total: $2,200
Winning Percentage: 0.629
Fines: $100
Wild Card Bet: Week 12 – Philadelphia – Won
Recap: Speaking of strong second halves, no one was hotter than Ron when November hit. He jumped to the top of the West and though Rick challenged him down the stretch, Ron prevailed and won the title.
Grade: A
Teddy KGB
Current Total: $300
Winning Percentage: 0.556
Fines: $300
Wild Card Bet: Week 12 – Dallas – Lost
Recap: The long and short of it is that without three late bets, Teddy would be in the playoffs. A rough way to end an otherwise strong season.
Grade: B-
The Notorious ABT
Current Total: -$2,100
Winning Percentage: 0.455
Fines: $100
Wild Card Bet: Week 14 – Indianapolis – Lost
Recap: After guaranteeing a playoff appearance, The ABT picked losers over and over again and enjoyed staying in the cellar for the majority of the 2014 run.
Grade: D-
Yaz
Current Total: -$200
Winning Percentage: 0.471
Fines: $0
Wild Card Bet: Week 17 – Baltimore – Push
Recap: Much like Dr. Oge, Yaz’s 2014 season came down to a push in the final week of the season. If that was a win, he’d be in the postseason. But Connor Shaw thought otherwise.
Grade: B-
