Monday's drawing of Finks divisions

 

Anna, my official picker of the slips for the Finks League divisions, is a year older and now a freshman at Hinsdale South. Here she is hours before her rained out cross-country debut already in her uniform. She is joined on the couch by one of our two dogs, Sugarbelle. 

Simo featured in Sun-Times

 

So Saturday's Sun-Times includes a regular feature on sports gambling written by someone I've never heard of out in Las Vegas. I still keeps tabs on Finks League Hall of Famer Matt Simo, who seems to be doing very well out in Sin City running some kind of proxy NFL football gambling outfit there. I can't figure out what he does. I sent an email to the writer with Matt's contact information, and in just one week my Saturday surprise was seeing a two-page spread on our former Finks Leaguer. 

I've know Matt since the late 1980s when myself and Bill Stone were a two-man sports department at the late Wheaton Daily Journal. Matt was a Glenbard West student who worked part-time as a six-pointer, answered phones and did occasional stories for us. Yes, both Matt and I are proud graduates of Glenbard West, your new home of the Class 4A state champion boys basketball team and the returning home for the state boys volleyball champion. 

Here is the story from the Sun-Times. 

Week 17: Penny, Gould lead Fantasy to Finger Bowl title

 

GURNEE, Ill. -- A pair of Week 15 free-agent pickups made major contributions to lead Just a Fantasy to the Finger Bowl 28 championship at Warren High School. 

RB Penny SEA scored 19 Finks points to earn MVP honors in the Finks League championship game and K Gould SF added 13 Finks points with three field goals. Penny rushed for a career-high 170 yards and scored TDs on runs of 15 and 6 yards as Fantasy defeated Ham N Eggers 47-40 in the title match.

Fantasy owner Jeff Newton won his second Finks League championship in a rematch of Finger Bowl 23 in 2016, which Fantasy won over the Eggers 51-16.

Newton picked up both Penny and Gould in the final week of eligibility for adding free agents. 

"If you look at Fantasy's lineup, the bottom four folks are waiver wire pickups with PK Gould SF, a two-time pickup for him and a key contributor to the FB win," Eggers owner Mike Miazga said. "Well done, Jeff."

FINGER BOWL 28 BOXSCORE

EGGERS (40)
Rodgers GB 11
Taylor IND 11
Barkley NYG 5
Adams GB 11
AJ Brown TEN zero
Zuerlein DAL 2

FANTASY (47)
Herbert LAC 9
Chubb CLE zero
Penny SEA 19
D. Samuel SF 6
Waddle MIA zero
Gould SF 13

Brawlers top Quags for third

DUBLIN -- QB Brady scored 18 Finks points to help the Dublin Brawlers beat Hurricane Quags in the Finks League's third-place match at Aviva Stadium. Brady threw three TD passes in a 52-47 victory.

THIRD-PLACE BOXSCORE

QUAGS (47) 

Mahomes KC 11

D. Williams KC 15

Montgomery CHI 12

Kelce KC 6

J. Jefferson MIN zero

Bass BUF 3

BRAWLERS (52)

Brady TB 18

D. Harris NE 12

A. Jones GB 3

Evans TB 6

Diggs BUF zero

J. Elliott PHI 13

Week 17: Finger Bowl 28 preview

Ham N Eggers (9-7) at Just a Fantasy (10-6)

at Warren High School, Gurnee Ill.

Playoff records: Eggers' Miazga 9-10-1; Fantasy's Newton 10-9

Head to head: Fantasy 45, Eggers 28, Week 7; Eggers 47, Fantasy 42, Week 12

The skinny: This is a rematch of Finger Bowl 23 in 2016 when Fantasy defeated the Eggers 51-16 to win its only Finks League championship. ... The Eggers won their only Finger Bowl one year earlier in Finger Bowl 22.  ... Miazga's Finger Bowl appearance ties him with Goff for a league-leading seventh FB trip. Miazga has made his 11th playoff appearance, bringing him one short of Goff's record. 

Projected starters: Eggers -- Rodgers, Taylor, Barkley, Adams, AJ Brown, Zuerlein; Fantasy -- Herbert, Chubb, Penny, D. Samuel, Waddle, Carlson.

The pick: Fantasy 43, Eggers 40.

Week 16: Semifinal boxscores

 Packers duo boost Eggers

PITTSBURGH -- The Packers combo of QB Rodgers and WR Adams combined to score 29 Finks points to give the Ham N Eggers a 53-49 victory over the Dublin Brawlers in the Finks League semifinals.

The win gave Eggers owner Mike Miazga temporary braggin' rights over his wife, Kristin, the Brawlers owner. The Brawlers were the defending Finger Bowl champions. 

The Brawlers had a chance to win the match going into Monday Night Football, but WR Callaway NO did not score any Finks points in the game. 

BRAWLERS (49)

Brady TB 6

A. Jones GB zero

D. Harris NE 23

Callaway NO zero

Diggs BUF 9

J Elliott PHI 11

EGGERS (53)

Rodgers GB 12

Sanders PHI zero

Taylor IND 5

AJ Brown TEN 11

Adams GB 17

Zuerlein DAL 8

Fantasy tops Quags

GURNEE, Ill. -- Due to COVID, Hurricane Quags was only able to start five players as Just a Fantasy routed Quags 55-30 in their Finks League semifinal. 

A late switch for Fantasy, starting RB Penny SEA to replace RB Swift DET, helped owner Jeff Newton as Penny scored 11 Finks points in the Seahawks' win over the Bears. He added nine more Finks points from WR Waddle MIA in Monday Night Football.

QUAGS (30)

Stafford LAR 3

Montgomery CHI 6

Jav. Williams DEN 6

Jefferson MIN 5

Bass BUF 10

FANTASY (55)

Herbert LAC 10

Chubb CLE 11

Penny SEA 11

D. Samuel SF 7

Waddle MIA 9

Carlson LV 7

Week 16: Semifinal previews

Hurricane Quags (8-7) at Just a Fantasy (9-6)

at Warren High School Field, Gurnee, Ill. 

Playoff records: Quags 5-9; Fantasy's Newton 9-9

Head to head: Fantasy 46, Quags 42 (Week 13)

The skinny: Fantasy, the Sabol Division champions, clinched their fifth division championship in Finks League play with a Week 15 win over the Brawlers. Both teams in that final week battle advanced to the playoffs. Fantasy finished in third place in 2020 and won back-to-back division titles for the first time since 2003-04. Fantasy won only two games in 2019 and won its only Finger Bowl in 2016. ... Quags has reached the playoffs for the fifth time in the last eight years. The Canes seek their first Finger Bowl championship since 2007. 

Projected starters: Quags -- Mahomes, Gibson, Jav. Williams, Kelce, Jefferson, Bass; Fantasy -- Herbert, Chubb, Swift, D. Samuel, Waddle, Carlson.

The pick: Fantasy 52, Quags 42

Dublin Brawlers (8-6-1) at Ham N Eggers (8-7)

at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh

Playoff records: Brawlers' Herigodt 7-3; Eggers' Miazga 8-10-1

Head to head: Brawlers 65, Eggers 58 (Week 5)

The skinny: Featuring the husband-and-wife brawl for supremacy on Pine Street in Elmhurst. The first couple of Finks League fame meet for the second time in playoff history since the 2016 semifinal. The Eggers won 89-32 behind RB D. Johnson AZ 21 points and QB Cousins WAS 20 points. ... Husband Mike and wife Kris have competed in the Finks League together since 2008. Once again, the duo will be unable to compete in a Finger Bowl against each other. Both the Eggers and Brawlers made the playoffs in 2015 together, but did not meet. ... The Brawlers are the defending Finks League champs. ... The Eggers won the Tagliabue Division this season and won their fourth division title in Finks play. 

Projected starters: Brawlers -- Brady, A. Jones, Jacobs, Evans, Diggs, Succop; Eggers -- Rodgers, Taylor, Sanders, Adams, AJ Brown, Zuerlein. 

The pick: Eggers 40, Brawlers 35

Parity entering Week 15

Just like the NFL's 2021 season, parity also rules this season in Finks League play. 

Entering the final week of the regular season, three teams in each division are vying for semifinal spots into the playoffs for Week 16. This is the first time since the inaugural 1994 season that a Finks League team will not reach double-digit wins during the regular season. 

With head-to-head key divisional matchups in Week 15, there should be plenty of clarity as to who is bound to qualify for the playoffs after Monday Night Football has concluded (Vikings-Bears).

In the League's final week crossover game, the Makers (8-6) play Quags (7-7) in a must-win showdown for each team. 

The likely Sabol Division champion could be decided with the Brawlers (8-5-1) meeting Fantasy (8-6).

Entering the final week, there is a three-way tie for the Tagliabue Division lead. That division should be decided with Gaga (7-7) meeting the Eggers (7-7). 

It's a perfect ending to a regular season without any team clinching a playoff spot entering Week 15.