Week 16: Semifinals

 

Saints Preserve Us! (10-5) vs. Just a Fantasy (10-5)

at Warren Township High O'Plaine Stadium, Gurnee, Ill.

Playoff records: Wilcox 8-7; Newton 12-10

Head to head: Saints! 53, Fantasy 21 (week 4); Fantasy 88, Saints! 37 (week 7)

The skinny: This year's playoffs feature all 10-5 teams for the first time in Finks League history. In 2011, the Finks playoffs featured three 10-5 teams and one with a 9-6 record. ... This semifinal features a pair of playoff teams from 2024. Fantasy placed second, losing 54-33 to the Eggers in Finger Bowl 31, and the Saints! took third. ... The Saints! must carry on without starting QB Mahomes KC, who started 14 of 15 games for the Saints! with the exception of their bye week. Mahomes tore his  ACL in Week 15. ... Fantasy owner Newton won his sixth division title. 

Projected starters: Saints! -- Maye, K. Williams, Hall, St. Brown, Sutton, Fairbairn; Fantasy -- Hurts, C. Brown, Judkins, Collins, JSN, Reichard. 

The pick: Fantasy 42, Saints! 34

Chicago Heights Mafia (10-5) vs. Hurricane Quags (10-5)

at Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens, Fla. 

Playoff records: Goff 13-11; Quags 7-11

Head to head: Quags 38, Mafia 21 (week 8)

The skinny: Mafia's five game losing streak ended in Week 15 with a loss to Fantasy. ... Quags ended the regular season with a four-game win streak. ... Mafia advanced to their second playoff appearance in three years. ... Three playoff teams this year needed wins in Week 15 to advance. Mafia was the only playoff team to lose in Week 15. ... Quags' last playoff appearance came in 2022. .. Mafia will likely start four members from his beloved Cowboys. The Cowboys are hosting the Chargers Sunday. ... Quags clinched his fourth division title. 

Projected starters: Mafia -- L. Jackson, Gibbs, Jav. Williams, Lamb, Pickens, Aubrey; Quags -- Burrow, Jacobs, Etienne, Pittman, Rice, Butker.

The pick: Quags 35, Mafia 28

Week 7: How Fantasy did it

 

With one more player to go in the final game of Week 7, Just a Fantasy had a chance to break the Finks League record for points scored in a single game. That player was WR Smith-Ngiba SEA. but the Ohio State product fell short. 

Fantasy earned 11 points for Smith-Ngiba's performance against the Texans, but it wasn't enough to give owner Jeff Newton an  opportunity to tie or exceed the Finks record of  91 points in a week. That mark was set by Mike Miazga's Eggers in week 2 of 2020. 

Fantasy's 88 points likely set a franchise record for points in a week. Fantasy beat Dah Commish's Saints Preserve Us! 88-37 in Week 7. Fantasy's RB Judkins CLE and K Reichard MIN scored 21 points each. Judkins scored three TDs and had 84 yards rushing. Reichard had five field goals and one PAT. 

Here is how Fantasy did it: 

QB Hurts PHI 16 pts.

RB Mason MIN 6

RB Judkins 21`

WR D. Smith PHI 13

WR Smith-Ngiba SEA 11

K Reichard MIN 21.

Week 1: The real season opener

Welcome Finksters to another Finks League season. So glad to have the regular crew back. I regard the first NFL Sunday as the real season opener. That's when I wake up with anticipation, pour through my newspaper sports sections (yes, I am the last person alive who has print subscriptions to both the Sun-Times and the Tribune on Sundays. And yes, when I die my children will not replace me as a print subscriber). 

NFL openers on a Thursday are a gimmick. It's not like Sunday morning when I catch occasional doses of Phyllis George, Irv Cross, Chris Berman or the annoying Fox guys. I hate predictions. Sometimes that's all you get is predictions. Predictions don't mean a thing since the Sunday morning Talking Heads aren't accountable for making bad predictions each week. But I remain a sucker for every NFL human interest piece about some defensive back from a crappy team like the Jaguars or Cardinals that has a brother in prison, or went homeless for a time, or had to survive street gangs growing up in Miami or L.A.

Feel free to take a moment and remember my favorite NFL GM, who died just a few months before this fantasy league started: https://www.jimfinks.org/about-jim-finks.html

Our annual Finks auction featured only one blind draw last week. That featured the Saints! over the Jays when my daughter Anna picked a random slip for RB Pollard TEN for one penny. 

Here is how the high bidding prices went by position: QB -- J. Allen BUF $35 by Distillers; RB -- B. Robinson ATL $32 by Jays; WR -- Chase CIN $32 by Jays; K -- Butler KC $4.11 by Quags.

Good luck to you all this season.