Serkus Act wins third Finger Bowl

Late season pickup leads Serkus to championship

BARABOO, Wis. -- For the second consecutive weekend, WR Beckham Jr. NYG led Serkus Act in scoring. Beckham's 13 Finks points in Week 17 led Serkus to a 54-30 victory over Ham N Eggers for the third Finger Bowl title in franchise history.

Serkus (13-4) won its third league title in six years at Newman Field, near the home of the Circus World Museum in southern Wisconsin. 

The Finger Bowl loss was the fourth consecutive for the Eggers (10-7). 

Serkus owner Goff also won back-to-back titles from 2009-10 and joins two former Finks owners, Matt Simo and Mike Wilcox, as the league's only three-time champs.

Serkus' 24-point victory ranks second in Finger Bowl history for greatest margin of victory. Mike Wilcox's Cooperstown Strikers beat Bill Stone's Blue Bombers 37-9 in Finger Bowl 1 in 1994.

Beckham, a Week 13 free-agent pickup, led Serkus to the Finger Bowl with 17 points in the semifinals. Beckham becomes Finger Bowl MVP as the leading scorer from the winning team. He becomes the first NYG player to nab Finger Bowl MVP honors since RB Barber for the St. Louis Spirits in 2000.

"I have said a few times this season that I really like my team before the season started, but I would have loved it had I not gotten outbid by about a buck for Dez Bryant," said Goff, a DAL fan. "But having Emmanuel Sanders come up big in Denver and then getting lucky enough to sign Odell Beckham Jr. down the stretch proved to be huge for the Serkus Act."

Serkus led all Finks League teams this season in fewest transactions, making only two pickups.

For the Finger Bowl win, Goff gains possession of the Abe Gibron Trophy for the next season. The winning owner won $387.

In the third place game, RB Anderson DEN scored 21 Finks points to lead the Decatur Staleys to a 43-39 win over Hurricane Quags.

BOXSCORES

Finger Bowl 21

Ham N Eggers (30)

QB Ryan ATL 5

RB Charles KC zero

RB Forte CHI zero

WR D. Thomas DEN 5

WR A. Brown PIT 17

PK Bullock HOU 3

Serkus Act (54)

QB E. Manning NYG 12

RB Foster HOU 6

RB Murray DAL 11

WR Beckham Jr. NYG 13

WR Sanders DEN zero

PK Parkey PHI 12

Third place

Hurricane Quags (39)

QB Luck IND 6

RB J. Bell DET zero

RB Mason STL zero

WR Bryant DAL 15

WR Evans TB 6

PK Hauschka SEA 12

Decatur Staleys (43)

QB Rivers SD 5

RB Anderson DEN 21

RB Stewart CAR zero

WR K. Benjamin CAR zero

WR D. Jackson WAS 9

PK Tucker BAL 8

Week 17: Finger Bowl 21 starting lineups

It's kickoff for Week 17. Here's the Finger Bowl 21 starters:

Ham N Eggers
QB Ryan ATL
RB Charles KC
RB Forte CHI
WR D. Thomas DEN
WR A. Brown PIT
PK Bullock HOU

Serkus Act
QB E. Manning NYG
RB Foster HOU
RB Murray DAL
WR Beckham Jr. NYG
WR Sanders DEN
PK Parkey PHI

Week 17: Finger Bowl 21 preview

Ham N Eggers (10-6) at Serkus Act (12-4)

At Newman Field, Baraboo, Wis.

Playoff history: The 2014 division champions meet for the first time in a Finks League Finger Bowl championship. Serkus owner Goff is 7-8 in the postseason while the Eggers' Miazga is 4-7-1.

Previous meeting: Serkus 54, Eggers 53, Week 3

The skinny: Goff has never faced Miazga in a Finger Bowl, but a connection to the Miazga family remains. Goff defeated Dublin Brawlers owner Kris Herigodt, Miazga's wife, in Finger Bowl 17 in 2010. Serkus won 40-17. Goff ties former Finks owner Matt Simo by making his fifth Finger Bowl appearance. Serkus is looking for its third title in six years after winning in 2009 and 2010. With the victory, Goff would join Simo and Mike Wilcox as the only Finks owners to win three Finger Bowls. Goff picked up his seventh career playoff win in the semifinals, moving into sole possession of second place among Finks owners. Simo has nine playoff wins. Goff passed Mike Wilcox, who had six.... Miazga extends his mark by making his fourth consecutive Finger Bowl appearance, but is still looking for his first win. He won his first division title this season. Miazga is already tied with Chris Traczek for the most Finger Bowl losses by an owner. Traczek has one title, but lost the Finks final in 1998, 2005 and 2008. The Eggers set a league record by scoring 853 points in the regular season in 2014.

Probable starters: Eggers -- Ryan ATL, Charles KC, Forte CHI, A. Brown PIT, Gronkowski NE, Gostkowski NE. Serkus -- Stafford DET, Murray DAL, Foster HOU, Sanders DEN, Beckham Jr. NYG, Parkey PHI.

The pick: Serkus 45, Eggers 40

Week 16: Semifinal results

BOXSCORES

Ham N Eggers 33, Decatur Staleys 28

Staleys (28)
QB Roethlisberger PIT 6
RB Anderson DEN 9
RB Ingram NO 6
TE J. Graham NO 6
WR K. Benjamin CAR zero
PK Tucker BAL 1

Eggers (33)
QB Ryan ATL
RB Charles KC zero
RB Forte CHI 6
WR A. Brown PIT 6
TE Gronkowski NE 6
PK Gostkowski NE 5

Serkus Act 50, Hurricane Quags 26

Quags (26)
QB Luck IND zero
RB J. Bell DET 6
RB Mason STL 9
WR Bryant DAL 6
WR Evans TB zero
PK Hauschka 5

Serkus (50)
QB Stafford DET 3
RB Murray DAL 6
RB Foster HOU 6
WR Sanders DEN 12
WR Beckham Jr. NYG 17
PK Parkey PHI 6

Week 16: Semifinal previews

Hurricane Quags (8-6-1) at Serkus Act (11-4)

At Newman Field, Baraboo, Wis.; Home of the Circus World Museum

Playoff history: Quags is 3-3 and makes his fourth playoff appearance. Quags won the 2007 Finger Bowl. Serkus owner Goff is 6-8 in the playoffs and makes his ninth postseason appearance. He is looking for his third Finger Bowl title. Goff's semifinal game will tie Traczek for the most playoff games by a Finks owner. Traczek is 5-9-1 in the postseason.

Previous meetings: Serkus 51, Quags 40 (Week 7); Quags 64, Serkus 49 (Week 13)

The skinny: Goff won this year's Harvey-Ponz Award after winning five games in 2013. Goff won his fourth division title and tied his franchise record with 11 wins on the season. Serkus went 11-4 in 2005, but did not win in the postseason. Goff is trying to match Simo for a record fifth appearance in the Finger Bowl. ... Quags went 8-6-1 for the second consecutive year and clinched a playoff berth with a win in Week 15. He did not qualify for the playoffs last season as the third place team in his division. Quags has carried five RBs for the most of the season, including suspended RB Peterson MIN. ... Serkus may be without top scorer RB Murray DAL, who suffered a broken hand in Week 15.

Probable starters: Quags -- Luck IND, J. Bell DET, Mason STL, Bryant DAL, M. Evans TB, Hauschka SEA. Serkus -- Stafford DET, Foster HOU, Murray DAL, Beckham Jr. NYG, Sanders DEN, Parkey PHI.

The pick: Serkus 50, Quags 45.

Decatur Staleys (10-5) at Ham N Eggers (9-6)

At Sanka Coffee Field, Elmhurst, Ill.

Playoff history: Staleys owner Dah Commish is 5-2 in the postseason, but makes his first playoff appearance under the new moniker as a Leatherhead football team after 17 years of Shakespeare themes. Dah Commish is in the playoffs for the fifth time and has won two Finger Bowl titles. Eggers owner Miazga makes his seventh playoff appearance and has reached the postseason for the fourth consecutive time. He is 3-7-1 in the postseason.

Previous meeting: Staleys 61, Eggers 37 (Week 13)

The skinny: The high-scoring Eggers broke Simo's longtime record for points in a season with 853, averaging an amazing 56.9 points per game. The Eggers scored 70 points or more in four consecutive weeks from Week 5-8 and scored a season-high 80 points in Week 5 against the Khans. In Miazga's 17 years, this is his first division title. He has won the last three times in the semifinals. ... After losing RB Rice BAL to begin the season due to an NFL suspension, Dah Commish made a league-leading transactions this season and even traded top point producer QB Luck IND (171 Finks points) to Quags in Week 12. The Staleys defense led the league in fewest points allowed this season with 557. The No. 2 defense belonged to defending champion Khans (611). This is the third time in four years that a Dah Commish owned team finished with a 10-5 record. 

Probable starters: Staleys -- Roethlisberger PIT, Anderson DEN, Ingram NO, J. Graham NO, Jeffery CHI, Tucker BAL. Eggers -- P. Manning DEN, Forte CHI, Charles KC, D. Thomas DEN, A. Brown PIT, Gostkowski NE.

The pick: Eggers 55, Staleys 40. 

Week 14: Eggers first to clinch division

With a loss in Week 14 by Hurricane Quags, Miazga's Ham N Eggers clinched the Kelly Division title heading into Week 15 to end the regular season. Amazingly, according to league records it is the first division title in Miazga's 17 years as a Finks League owner.

The Eggers are the three-time Finger Bowl runner-up attempting to claim the first league title this year for Miazga. The 2014 Eggers have already broken the single-season league scoring record by a team and have scored 815 points with one match remaining.

The last playoff qualifying spot will be determined in Week 15 between defending league champion Khans and Quags for the runner-up spot in the Kelly Division. With a win over the Eggers, Quags would clinch second place.

Khans must beat the Staleys in Week 15 and Quags would need to lose for the Khans to gain a berth into the playoffs. Both the Khans and Quags have seven wins on the season, but Quags has a half-game lead due to its Week 3 tie against the Barrels.

In the Levy Division, Serkus would clinch the division title with a win in Week 15 while the Staleys remain one game back. Both teams have already claimed playoff berths.

Thanks to all for participating in the Finks League for 2014. Follow the playoffs

The playoff picture gets clearer

Defending Finks League champion Khans suffered a 43-40 loss to the Barrels in Week 13, but owner D. J. Wanberg still has a chance to make the playoffs with his merry band of Mongolians.

Three teams  -- Eggers, Staleys and Serkus -- clinched playoff berths in Week 13 with two weeks remaining in the regular season. The fight for the last playoff berth remains in the Kelly Division where Quags (7-5-1) and Khans (6-7) seek the second playoff berth. Quags remains eligible for a division title against first place Eggers (9-4).

Staleys (9-4) and Serkus (9-4) have wrapped up berths in the Levy Division, but the next two weeks will decide the division champion. Both teams split their head-to-head meetings on the season.

The top two teams in each division qualify for the Finks League playoffs. In the semifinals, the Kelly Division champ will face the Levy runner-up and the Levy champion faces the Kelly runner-up.

Finger Bowl 21 will be held in Week 17.

Week 13: Eggers set scoring record

Mike Miazga's Ham N Eggers scored 37 points in Week 13 to set the record for scoring in a season.

The Eggers have 778 points with two weeks remaining in the regular season. The Eggers broke the longtime record previously held by Matt Simo's Los Angeles Express (771) of 2003. The Express lost to Dah Commish's As You Hike It, 58-44, in the Finger Bowl that season.

Birthday fiesta

Serkus owner Stan Goff submitted a photo from the celebration for Distillers owner Dan Casssidy. Cassidy is far left, Goff and Barrels owner Chris Traczek are fourth and fifth from the left. Happy birthday, Dan.