Goodbye, KFFL

USA Today is spending some money on fantasy football and bought out my favorite fantasy site this month: KFFL.com.

You get this story when you click to KFFL. http://fantasy.usatoday.com/2014/08/kffl-shuts-down-becomes-usatoday-fantasy-sports

The spin is not appreciated. KFFL had a neat player tracker that delivered regular email updates on your rostered players. There was other cool stuff on KFFL that has now disappeared under the USA Today banner.

Another departed fantasy site was Fantasy Sports U, which was run by former Hinsdale South football player Ryan Neiman. I think Ryan got a job out of the area and realized there is no money in fantasy football analysis.

A new era for Dah Commish teams

After 17 years of Shakespeare-themed fantasy football teams, Dah Commish has chosen to go a different direction in annual nicknames for his fantasy team in his 21st season.

To borrow from the first season as the Staten Island Stapletons, he will borrow nicknames from teams in the leather helmet era of football. There are plenty to choose from for a while after running out of Shakespeare-inspired puns.

The Stapletons nickname seemed to be a natural. Dah Commish was born in Staten Island, N.Y., but his parents moved to Chicago only a few years later. It was a brief pleasure to be able to visit Staten Island again in the summer of 2013 for a family vacation. Dah Family took Dah Ferry to Staten Island, walked around the minor league ball park just a block away and then boarded the ferry for the ride back to Lower Manhattan. Dah kids were underwhelmed, for sure.

Dah Commish's Shakespeare teams crowned two Finger Bowl champions: As You Hike in 2003 for FB 10 and Anthony Munoz and Cleopatra in 2012 for FB 19. A couple of my favorite Shakespeare football pun nicknames were Much Ado About Tackling in 1997 and All's Well That Tight Ends Well in 2002.

Good luck to you all in 2014.

Mongolia rocks! Yes we Khan

Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia -- With a balanced attack and big performances from PK Gostkowski NE and QB Dalton CIN, Ulan Bator Khans owner D.J. Wanberg claimed his first Finks League title with a 53-49 win over the Ham N Eggers in Finger Bowl 20 at National Sports Stadium.

For Eggers owner Mike Miazga, it was another year of heartbreak as the Eggers lost in the Finger Bowl for the third consecutive year.

"I thought I was going to get blown out early. This one sucks but I'm happy I made it this far given all the injuries I had. Nice to see Randall Cobb (a key HNE draftee and contributor early in the season) reappear in Week 17 coming off IR," Miazga said in a statement.

Wanberg was unable to join the Khans (12-5) in Mongolia and was in Nebraska visiting family over the Week 17 weekend. He was unavailable for comment Sunday.

With 18 Finks points, Gostkowski earned Finger Bowl MVP honors becoming the first PK to earn MVP since Kaeding SD in 2009. The Eggers (10-6-1) were led by 23 Finks points from RB Forte CHI.

For the win, Wanberg earns $386.25 while Miazga receives $128.75.

In the third place match, 2012 Finger Bowl champion Lockport Distillers beat Creighton Barrels 55-29.

FINGER BOWL 20 BOXSCORE

Ham N Eggers
P. Manning DEN 17
Forte CHI 23
Morris WAS zero
Allen SD 3
Colston NO zero
Walsh MIN 2
Total 45

Ulan Bator Khans
Dalton CIN 17
Cunningham STL zero
F. Jackson BUF 6
Marshall CHI 6
Green CIN 6
Gostkowski NE 18
Total 53

THIRD-PLACE BOXSCORE

Creighton Barrels 

Luck IND 8

Ivory NYJ zero

A. Brown NYG zero

D. Thomas DEN 17

Gordon CLE 3

Sturgis MIA 1

Total 29

Lockport Distillers

Brees NO 27

Lynch SEA 9

Green-Ellis CIN zero

Garcon WAS zero

White ATL 9

Crosby GB 10

Total 55

Week 17: Finger Bowl 20 preview

HAM N EGGERS (10-5-1) vs. ULAN BATOR KHANS (11-5)
At National Sports Stadium, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

Playoff records: Miazga 3-6-1, Wanberg 2-4
Head to head: Khans 48, Eggers 46, Week 7; Eggers 24, Khans 19, Week 11

The skinny: Not only is this the first Finger Bowl to be played in Mongolia, but it also features two longtime Finks League owners who have never won a championship. The Eggers' Miazga has spent 16 years in the league while the Khans' Wanberg is in his 17th season. ... This year's Finger Bowl also features two division runners-up, the Khans from the Favre Division and the Eggers from the Marino Division. The last time that happened was 2009 when Wanberg lost 37-31 to Goff's Serkus Act in Wanberg's only other Finger Bowl appearance. ... Miazga hopes to avoid becoming the NFL's Buffalo Bills with his third consecutive Finger Bowl appearance, but no wins. Buffalo lost four straight Super Bowls from 19991-94. Miazga lost last year's Finks League championship to Wilcox's Anthony Munoz and Cleopatra, 61-42. In 2001, he lost 66-61 to Cassidy's Lockport Distillers. ... This year's third place matchup features the Barrels (11-5) vs. the Distillers (11-5).

Projected lineups: Eggers -- P. Manning, Forte, Morris, Allen, Colston, Walsh; Khans -- Dalton, Cunningham, F. Jackson, Marshall, Green, Gostkowski.

The pick: Eggers 35, Khans 25

Week 16: Semifinal results

WEEK 16 BOXSCORES

Ulan Bator Khans
QB Dalton CIN 21
RB Cunningham STL zero
RB F. Jackson BUF 11
WR Marshall CIN 6
WR Green CIN 15
PK Gostkowski NE 15
Total 68

Lockport Distillers
QB Brees NO 8
RB Lynch SEA zero
RB Green-Ellis CIN zero
WR Cal. Johnson DET zero
WR Garcon WAS 11
PK Crosby GB 7
Total 32

Ham N Eggers

QB P. Manning DEN 21

RB Morris WAS 9

RB Forte CHI zero

WR Colston zero

WR Allen SD 6

PK Walsh MIN 2

Total 38

Creighton Barrels

QB Luck IND 6

RB Ivory NYJ 5

RB A. Brown NYG zero

WR D. Thomas DEN 11

WR Gordon CLE 3

PK Sturgis MIA zero

Total 25

Week 16: Semifinals previews

HAM N EGGERS (9-5-1) vs. CREIGHTON BARRELS (11-4)
At Morrison Stadium, Omaha, Neb.

Championships won: Traczek, 1999
Playoff records: Miazga, 2-6-1; Traczek 5-7-1
Previous meeting: Eggers 68, Barrels 58, Week 1

The skinny: Miazga's Eggers are the two-time Finger Bowl runner-up seeking their first Finks League title... Traczek's Barrels are the Favre Division champs and Traczek's last playoff appearance was second place in 2008... The Barrels took a late hit in their lineup with New Orleans' release of PK Hartley after Week 15.

Projected starters: Eggers -- P. Manning, Morris, Forte, Allen, J. Thomas, Walsh. Barrels -- Luck, T. Richardson, MJD, D. Jackson, Gordon, Sturgis.

The pick: Eggers 45, Barrels 30.



ULAN BATOR KHANS (10-5) vs. LOCKPORT DISTILLERS (11-4)

At East Stadium, Lockport, Ill.

Championships won: Cassidy, 2011
Playoff records: Wanberg 1-4; Cassidy 2-1-1
Previous meeting: Distillers 47, Khans 37, Week 3

The skinny: Since joining the league, Cassidy's Distillers have made a playoff appearance in each of their three seasons. In a short time, Cassidy has become the league's winningest owner with a 32-16-1 record... The Distillers won the Marino Division title. ... Wanberg's Khans made their last playoff appearance in 2009 when they were Finger Bowl runner-up.

Projected starters: Khans -- Dalton, Cunningham, F. Jackson, Green, Marshall, Gostkowski. Distillers -- Brees, Lynch, Green-Ellis, Cal. Johnson, Garcon, Crosby.

The pick: Distillers 50, Khans 35.

Quags ends season with an 89-point bang

Hurricane Quags fell shy of qualifying for the 2013 Finks League playoffs, but went out with a bang in Week 15 by scoring 89 points in a single weekend. Quags came one point shy of equaling the Finks League record set by Matt Simo's Chicago Blitz in Week 11 of 1995. That was the second season of the Finks League, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary.

As Serkus owner Stan Goff noted, Quags' RB Charles KC's 37 points outscored not only his team, but four other teams for a single weekend. It's hard to believe, but Charles' six-TD game even outscored PK Tucker BAL's six-FG game for Quags.

Here's the breakdown in Week 15 for Quags:

QB: Rivers SD 6 points
RB: Charles KC 37 points (5 touchdowns, 195 receiving yards)
RB: Vereen NE 0 points
WR: Bryant DAL 13 points (1 touchdown, 153 yards)
WR: Jeffery CHI 6 points (1 touchdown, 72 yards)
K: Tucker BAL 27 points (6 field goals, 9 bonus points)