The Postseason Report
Gentlemen – In a regular season that was like no other, the FMFL ended up finishing right around where it usually does, with the final playoff spot at $1,100. There were some severe dips in leaguewide performance in the second half of the season, but in the final week a handful of winning wild card bets put the overall league total back into positive dollars.
Here’s a breakdown of how the league did as a whole each week:
Week 1: +$4,700
Week 2: +$1,200
Week 3: +-$700
Week 4: +$1,300
Week 5: +$4,900
Week 6: +$200
Week 7: -$1,800
Week 8: -$2,800
Week 9: -$4,800
Week 10: -$2,400
Week 11: -$6,000
Week 12: -$2,000
Week 13: +$5,600
Week 14: +$1,800
Week 15: +$300
Week 16: -$2,300
Week 17: +$5,800
That’s a cumulative total of +$3,000.
Disclaimer: The following is a completely biased report of the 2020 FMFL season. The views, opinions, and observations that follow are those of the Executive Director and are completely subjective.
East Division
Boss Hardigan
Current Total: $2,200
Winning Percentage: 0.603
Fines: $0
Wild Card Bet: Week 7 – Tampa Bay – Won
Recap: The Boss stumbled a bit in December after he enjoyed a sizable lead on the rest of the league for the first three months of the season. He still won the East, but fell short of the overall prize. He’s a franchise that might be due in the postseason.
Grade: A
Chris B. Corey
Current Total: $1,700
Winning Percentage: 0.591
Fines: $100
Wild Card Bet: Week 11 – Pittsburgh – Won
Recap: Another solid year from CBC, who had a few tough weeks in the second half but his winning wild card bet always kept him in playoff position.
Grade: A-
Judge Smails
Current Total: $0
Winning Percentage: 0.446
Fines: $0
Wild Card Bet: Week 9 – Baltimore – Won
Recap: Fitting that the Judge ends the season at even money. In the second half, his highs were never too high and his lows were never too low. He was consistent but never sparked to make a playoff run.
Grade: C+
Mr. Marbles
Current Total: -$600
Winning Percentage: 0.500
Fines: $0
Wild Card Bet: Week 13 – Kansas City – Lost
Recap: A losing wild card bet ultimately doomed Mr. Marbles from being relevant this season. Though his winning percentage landed right at .500, his money management could use some work.
Grade: C-
OJ
Current Total: -$200
Winning Percentage: 0.525
Fines: $0
Wild Card Bet: Week 17 – Cleveland – Lost
Recap: The Juice edged close to playoff relevancy for most of the second half of the year, but then took the road less traveled in Week 17, losing his wild card bet.
Grade: C
Patrick Bateman
Current Total: $2,000
Winning Percentage: 0.561
Fines: $0
Wild Card Bet: Week 17 – LA Rams – Won
Recap: Bateman made a late charge at Boss Hardigan for the East Division crown, but came up just short. His consistency makes him a franchise to be feared in the playoffs.
Grade: A
T-Ferg
Current Total: -$1,200
Winning Percentage: 0.439
Fines: $0
Wild Card Bet: Week 9 – Seattle – Lost
Recap: T-Ferg dipped around midseason and then never put it together in the second half of the year. He’s happy to turn the page to 2021.
Grade: D
The Big Hurt
Current Total: $1,400
Winning Percentage: 0.583
Fines: $0
Wild Card Bet: Did Not Use
Recap: The only franchise not to use his wild card bet took a conservative, smooth road in the second half to get to the postseason. This can only mean one thing: his inevitable meltdown is coming.
Grade: A-
North Division
Babe
Current Total: -$200
Winning Percentage: 0.529
Fines: $0
Wild Card Bet: Week 4 – Arizona – Lost
Recap: Babe showed signs of life at times in the second half of the year, but his sluggish performance in the first two months was too difficult to overcome.
Grade: C
Bud Fox
Current Total: $2,600
Winning Percentage: 0.523
Fines: $0
Wild Card Bet: Week 17 – Green Bay – Won
Recap: Bud Fox never strayed from the top of the North Division, and when he looked vulnerable, he won $1,000 in Week 17 to win not only the division, but the Overall Regular Season Title.
Grade: A+
Don Mattingly
Current Total: $1,600
Winning Percentage: 0.492
Fines: $0
Wild Card Bet: Week 17 – Green Bay – Won
Recap: Don Mattingly was another franchise that benefitted from a strategy of holding onto his wild card bet and then making a statement in Week 17. The least decorated franchise in the history of the FMFL has a chance to finally win some money this year.
Grade: B+
Donnie Jeffcoat
Current Total: -$1,600
Winning Percentage: 0.432
Fines: $0
Wild Card Bet: Week 12 – Arizona – Lost
Recap: Donnie was looking to turn the corner in the second half but got the opposite with his Week 12 wild card loss. He was a non-factor for the remainder of the season.
Grade: D
Gordon Bombay
Current Total: -$500
Winning Percentage: 0.478
Fines: $0
Wild Card Bet: Week 17 – Tennessee – Lost
Recap: Gordon had a chance to win the division in Week 17, which was a bonus after a mediocre season. Unfortunately, his wild card bet wen the wrong way and he missed the playoffs entirely.
Grade: C
Kenny Powers
Current Total: -$2,100
Winning Percentage: 0.441
Fines: $600
Wild Card Bet: Week 9 – Pittsburgh – Lost
Recap: Another tough campaign for Kenny Powers, who couldn’t put together winning weeks in 2020.
Grade: D-
Larisa Oleynik
Current Total: -$400
Winning Percentage: 0.458
Fines: $0
Wild Card Bet: Week 15 – Kansas City – Push
Recap: Larisa was on the brink of making a run in December, but a fateful push on her wild card bet left her out of the mix once again.
Grade: C
Shecky
Current Total: -$3,600
Winning Percentage: 0.297
Fines: $0
Wild Card Bet: Week 7 – Cleveland – Lost
Recap: On the bright side for Shecky, one more loss and he would’ve broken the record for lowest winning percentage in a single season. So he avoided that….
Grade: F
South Division
Chalky Studebaker
Current Total: -$900
Winning Percentage: 0.462
Fines: $0
Wild Card Bet: Week 16 – Miami – Lost
Recap: Chalky remained on the outskirts of the South race until the final weeks of the season, but, alas, he couldn’t get a wild card jolt that would power him to the playoffs.
Grade: C-
Karl Farbman
Current Total: -$2,400
Winning Percentage: 0.382
Fines: $0
Wild Card Bet: Week 11 – Kansas City – Lost
Recap: A terrible season for the 2019 champion who talked a big game coming into this year. After the first month of the season, he was so far out of the picture many forgot he was even in the league.
Grade: D-
Karl Hungus
Current Total: $1,200
Winning Percentage: 0.459
Fines: $0
Wild Card Bet: Week 1 – Buffalo – Won
Recap: Hungus led the division for most of the first half of the year, but then sat in the back seat for much of the second half. He snuck into the postseason and now anything can happen.
Grade: B
Neon Boudeaux
Current Total: $1,100
Winning Percentage: 0.553
Fines: $100
Wild Card Bet: Week 3 – Tampa Bay – Won
Recap: Neon blew his chance at the division down the stretch and was lucky to oust Waldo on a tiebreaker for the final playoff bid. One wonders if his early season wild card strategy was wise. He could have bundled it with another pick down the stretch and could have actually won something.
Grade: B
Rick Moranis
Current Total: $1,800
Winning Percentage: 0.508
Fines: $0
Wild Card Bet: Week 17 – LA Rams – Won
Recap: Rick was mugged by the rest of the South late in the year, but made a comeback in Week 17 to capture the division crown.
Grade: A
The Notorious ABT
Current Total: $0
Winning Percentage: 0.418
Fines: $0
Wild Card Bet: Week 13 – Buffalo – Won
Recap: The ABT was another franchise that toyed with the idea of making a playoff run, but couldn’t put it together. His poor winning percentage is to blame.
Grade: C+
Thine
Current Total: $600
Winning Percentage: 0.473
Fines: $0
Wild Card Bet: Week 5 – LA Rams – Won
Recap: Thine struggled to mount a challenge to the rest of the South when it mattered most.
Grade: B-
Waldo Geraldo Faldo
Current Total: $1,100
Winning Percentage: 0.549
Fines: $0
Wild Card Bet: Week 9 – Baltimore – Won
Recap: Waldo’s late season charge was all for nothing as just won more win would have gotten him into the playoffs.
Grade: B
West Division
Bayonnaise
Current Total: -$300
Winning Percentage: 0.489
Fines: $200
Wild Card Bet: Week 10 – Miami – Won
Recap: There were weeks when Bayonnaise showed why he was once a feared franchise in the FMFL. Then there were weeks when he didn’t understand how time zones work.
Grade: C
Blossom Russo
Current Total: -$300
Winning Percentage: 0.439
Fines: $600
Wild Card Bet: Week 7 – Kansas City – Won
Recap: Blossom dug herself a hole by not betting early in the year, and it was one she couldn’t get out of even though the West was within reach down the stretch.
Grade: C-
Kiko Garcia
Current Total: $1,000
Winning Percentage: 0.541
Fines: $0
Wild Card Bet: Week 17 – Green Bay – Won
Recap: It looked like Kiko was waiting to turn it on until the final moments of the 2020 season. He did, but it was $100 short of the playoffs and $200 short of the West title.
Grade: B
Kimmy Gibbler
Current Total: $700
Winning Percentage: 0.544
Fines: $800
Wild Card Bet: Week 13 – Cleveland – Won
Recap: Kimmy had a chance at the West title in the final weeks if The People’s Champ faltered. He didn’t, so she’s left on the outside of the playoff picture.
Grade: B-
Luther Lavay
Current Total: -$2,000
Winning Percentage: 0.500
Fines: $1,400
Wild Card Bet: Week 4 – San Francisco – Lost
Recap: Luther had a .500 winning percentage, but racked up fines and lost his wild card bet. The combination torpedoed his 2020 season.
Grade: D
The Beard of Zeus
Current Total: -$600
Winning Percentage: 0.463
Fines: $0
Wild Card Bet: Week 14 – Tennessee – Lost
Recap: The Beard was coming off a gangbusters 2019 season, so this poor performance left something to be desired.
Grade: C-
The People’s Champ
Current Total: $1,200
Winning Percentage: 0.522
Fines: $0
Wild Card Bet: Week 17 – Green Bay – Won
Recap: It got a little shaky in the last two weeks as The Champ’s lead in the West disappeared. His Week 17 bet put him over the top and into the playoffs, where he is the only former FMFL Champion in the field.
Grade: B+
Yaz
Current Total: -$2,600
Winning Percentage: 0.382
Fines: $200
Wild Card Bet: Week 17 – Las Vegas – Lost
Recap: Yaz’s second half took a severe downturn and was punctuated by a -$1,000 effort in Week 17.
Grade: D-
