Week 17: Finger Bowl 17 preview

DUBLIN BRAWLERS (11-5) vs. SERKUS ACT (11-5) 
At Baraboo Senior High School, Baraboo, Wis.

The skinny: This year's Finger Bowl features the Finks League's last two champions. The Brawlers and Serkus each on division titles this season. Defending champion Serkus owner Stan Goff is attempting to become the first owner to win back-to-back titles since Matt Simo in 2001-02. Brawlers owner Kris Herigodt is going for her second title in two years after winning her rookie season. Herigodt beat the Barrels 29-22 in the 2008 Finger Bowl. Goff won 37-31 over the Sharks last season. Herigodt is 3-0 in the playoffs; Goff is 5-8. One of this year's Brawlers' probable starter, RB A. Peterson MIN, was the 2008 Finger Bowl MVP.

The stat: Goff is 1-2 in the Finger Bowl with previous losses to the Los Angeles Express, 34-26, in 2002 and the St. Louis Spirits, 36-18, in 2000.

Previous meetings:  Brawlers 61, Serkus 39, Week 4; Serkus 46, Brawlers 42, Week 7.

Probable starters: Brawlers -- Rodgers, A. Peterson, Hillis, Welker, Jennings, Graham; Serkus -- Schaub, Foster, Charles, Cal. Johnson, Austin, Crosby.

The pick: Brawlers 45, Serkus 43.

Semifinals: Week 16 Boxscores

BRAWLERS 48, NEWT 26

Brawlers (48)
QB Rodgers GB 21
RB A. Peterson MIN 11
RB Hillis CLE zero
WR Jennings GB 5
WR Welker NE zero
PK Graham NE 11

Newt (26)
QB Garrard JAX 14
RB Mendenhall PIT 6
RB Turner ATL zero
WR A. Johnson HOU DNP
WR Wayne IND zero
PK Scobee JAX 6

SERKUS 51, POSSE 13

Serkus (51)
QB Schaub HOU 6
RB Foster HOU 9
RB Charles KC 15
WR Austin DAL 11
WR Cal. Johnson DET zero
PK Crosby GB 10

Posse (13)
QB Rivers SD 8
RB McCoy PHI zero
RB F. Jackson BUF 3
WR D. Jackson PHI zero
WR V. Jackson SD zero
PK Bryant ATL 2

Week 16 semifinals: Starting lineups

Here are the starting lineups for the Week 16 semifinals:

Dublin Brawlers vs. Eye of Newt

Brawlers: QB Rodgers GB, RB Peterson MIN, RB Hills CLE, WR Jennings GB, WR Welker NE, PK Graham PIT.

Newt: QB Garrard JAX, RB Mendenall PIT, RB Turner ATL, WR A. Johnson HOU, WR Wayne IND, PK Scobee JAX.

Serkus Act vs. Las Vegas Posse

Serkus: QB Schaub HOU, RB Foster HOU, RB Charles KC, WR Austin DAL, WR Cal. Johnson DET, PK Crosby GB.

Posse: QB Rivers SD, RB McCoy PHI, RB F. Jackson BUF, WR D. Jackson PHI, WR V. Jackson SD, PK Bryant ATL.

Week 16 semifinals set; Posse get in

2010 FINKS LEAGUE SEMIFINAL PREVIEWS: WEEK 16

Dublin Brawlers (10-5) vs. Eye of Newt (9-6) 
At Aviva Stadium, Dublin, Ireland

The skinny: Brawlers won their first division title and have made the playoffs for the second time in three years after winning the 2008 Finger Bowl in their first season. Newt's Jeff Newton is the only owner in the playoffs to have never won a Finger Bowl title. He has been to the championship game two times, finishing as runner-up in 2004 and 2006. Newton is in his ninth season and owns a 4-4 postseason record. He is making his fifth playoff appearance.


The stat: Brawlers owner Kris Herigodt is 2-0 in the playoffs.

Previous meeting: Brawlers 66, Newt 50 (Week 3)

Probable starters: Brawlers -- Rodgers, A. Peterson, Hillis, Welker, Jennings, Graham. Newt -- Cassel, Turner, Mendenhall, A. Johnson, Colston, Cundiff.

The pick: Brawlers 45, Newt 40.

Serkus Act (10-5) vs. Las Vegas Posse (8-7)
At Baraboo Senior High School, Baraboo, Wis. Home of the Circus World Museum.

The skinny: Posse owner has been calling his club "The Replacements" this season due to the overturn of his roster after a slow start to the season. A turning point was his 3-for-1 trade in Week 7 for Cymbe-offensive-line QB Rivers SD. Posse have won six of their last seven games to make a desperate push into the playoffs. Posse gained a playoff berth by winning the head-to-head tiebreaker over Creighton Barrels. Posse swept the season series.  Simo owns an 8-4 playoff record and has the most postseason wins in league history. He is in his 14th season and is one of two remaining original owners in the league. Simo is making his ninth playoff appearance. Serkus owner Stan Goff hopes to become the first back-to-back league champ since Simo. Goff is in his 16th season and is making his eighth playoff appearance. Goff owns a 4-8 record in the postseason.

The stat: Simo aims for a league-record fourth Finger Bowl championship, which would break his current tie with former owner Mike Wilcox. Simo won titles in 1997, 2001 and 2002. Simo is the last owner to win back-to-back league titles.

Previous meetings: Serkus 54, Posse 18 (Week 8); Posse 32, Serkus 31 (Week 9)

Probable starters: Serkus -- Schaub, Foster, Charles, Cal. Johnson, Austin, Suisham. Posse -- Rivers, McCoy, F. Jackson, V. Jackson, D. Jackson, Kaeding.

The pick:  Posse 38, Serkus 33.

Week 14: Three playoff teams set

Congrats to Serkus and Newt on clinching playoff berths out of the Montana Division. The second team in the Elway Division is yet to be decided between the Barrels and Posse, aka The Replacements. Barrels will clinch with a win, but a tie would go in favor of the Posse for their season series sweep over the Barrels, 64-43 and 65-28.

Week 14 ended the playoff hopes for the Eggers, as owner Mike Miazga explains:  "The Ham N Eggers playoff hopes flushed down the toilet with less than a minute to go in the Houston Baltimore game when A. Johnson catches a touchdown pass.

"I had a 7-point lead going into the Monday night DH....Bradshaw got 11 points for me in the early game. I'm leading by 18 now. I turned the computer off when Baltimore

was leading 28-10 or 21-10 or something. I did not notice or want to know what quarter it was. 

"I got up early this morning and saw the score and thought I could be in trouble. And I was. A. Johnson 2 touchdowns and 140 and Cundiff 4 extra points. That last Johnson

score brings it from a 3-point HNE lead to a Newton win.

 

"Nice win, Jeff. You have a good team. Good luck the rest of the way.

HNE, which has lost 3 contests by 2, 2, and 3 points, will now try to finish the season with a winning record (something that hasn't occurred in a long time)."

Week 13: Congrats Brawlers

The Brawlers' 62-32 victory over Quags in Week 13 helped the Dubliners clinch the first playoff berth in the 2010 Finks League season. The Brawlers need another win in Week 14 over the Sharks to clinch a division title.

Five other teams have playoff hopes that will be partly decided in Week 14.

Musings from other owners around the league on Week 13:

Eggers' Miazga: "I show a Barrels 55-45 win thanks to T. Brady's MNF 19-point performance....I had 18 points on the bench in that game.....(Green Ellis had 2 scores and Branch had 1 TD), but

Branch being in the lineup would have only made up 6 of the 10....Green-Ellis instead of Bradshaw would have cost me 3 points, so I blame this loss squarely on

Chris Johnson turning in another pathetic fantasy effort. And I'm sure I'll start him again this week fearing he might actually do something productive."

Barrels' Traczek: "Creighton Barrels weren't feeling too confident facing a 30-0 deficit following another Michael Vick tour de force and David Akers' kicking on Thursday night, but we got back into it thanks to Brandon Jacobs' 17-point effort on Sunday, TDs from Matt Forte and Terrell Owens, and Dan Carpenter's crossbar-scraping 60-yard FG, though a victory would have been assured if I had started Sydney Rice (17 points) instead of Owens--a choice that came down to a coin flip on Sunday morning. I also left big points on the bench from Anquan Boldin (11), LeGarrette Blount (11) and Darren McFadden (9). So, it all meant that Tom Brady had to bail me out again, and for the second time in 4 games he did just that--against the NFL's No. 3 defense, no less. Sometimes this fantasy football can be fun!"