Yeah, Jake Elliott

So cool to see Lyons grad Jake Elliott become our Player of the Week for No. 1. 

I've written previously in this space how I used to cover Elliott as a four-time state tennis qualifier at Lyons and his improbable kicking career for his junior and senior seasons. 

He won a Homecoming exhibition kicking contest and turned that into a Super Bowl championship. At state tennis, he was a singles state qualifier in 2012 and 2013 and doubles in 2011 and 2010.

I also covered QB Garoppolo LV when he was at Rolling Meadows. Here's hoping I'll be able to write about him soon. 

NFL Redzone

 Was someone supposed to report that the Redzone channel is on NFL Network and no longer just for satellite customers?

Auction 2023: Notebook

 

In nearly 30 years, the Finks League has used plenty of legendary NFL names for its division assignments. It seems hard to believe in all this time that the league has never used divisional names to honor Bud Grant and Tom Landry.

Probably because neither coach would be willing to comment, if they were still alive.

Our annual auction went late into Sept. 4 morning. For the first time in recent memory, there were no ties determined by blind draw. 

The highlights:

• High bids: Gaga shocked all bid sheets with a $20 high offer for K Tucker BAL (pictured). That perhaps set an unofficial league record for Finks kickers. Other toppers were Distillers for QB J. Allen BUF ($35), Quags for RB Ekeler LAC ($33.11) and Quags again for WR J. Jefferson MIN ($28.77).
• Family feud: Husband and wife Finks owners Mike Miazga and Kris Herigodt definitely do not share Finks bid sheet information. In the bidding for K McPherson CIN, Miazga's Eggers topped Kris' Brawlers $3.51 to $3.01.
• All in for Bijan: Well, for more than $3 actually. In perhaps the most spirited bidding of the evening, the newly named Tailgaters and Mafia battled for rookie RB Bijan Robinson ATL. The Gaters won $3.12 to $3.01.
• Strawberry Fields Forever: The Jays showed big-time love for young QB Fields CHI. How about a winning bid for $13.72?
• Bargain shopping: The unique fantasy football twist of using a blind auction for Finks League instead of a live or automated snake draft is the ability to find deals among your $100 limit. How about these? The Brawlers produced draft steals with $2.11 for QB Mahomes KC and $1.13 for RB McCaffrey SF. The newly christened Saints Preserve Us! felt pretty good about QB Hurts PHI falling into their roster for $5.27. 

Good luck to all this season. 

What's in a fantasy football name?

 

Plenty.

Everyone tries to come up with the most clever nicknames for their fantasy football teams. Starting this year, my Finks League team will become Saints Preserve Us! starting with our 30th season. Simply, I have run out of nicknames honoring the leather helmet era pro football teams of the past. My first leather helmet nickname tribute was in our first season when my team was the Staten Island Stapletons, also honoring my birthplace.

My recent run of leather helmet names started in 2014 with the Decatur Staleys. 

Saints Preserve Us! (yes, with an exclamation mark) honors my favorite NFL team, whose late GM bears the name of our league. I don't plan on changing this new nickname any time in the future. After 30 years, I am finding out what my fellow Finks owners have known for quite some time. It's too difficult to change your nickname every year. 

As you recall, I changed my previous run of nicknames every year from 1997 to 2013 as puns on Shakespeare plays. My only titles came in 2003 as As You Hike It and in 2012 with Anthony Munoz and Cleopatra.