Week 9 review: One-sided crossovers

With four winning teams through Week 9, the Starr Division has established itself as the dominant division in Finks League 2015. Without a doubt.

Looking over the history of the Finks League at the All-time Stands page, the division races have been pretty balanced over the years. This season is an exception.

The five Starr Division teams swept all the crossover matches in Week 9 after winning 4-0-1  in Week 8. The Finks League schedule reserves its crossover portion of the schedule for midseason to leave division contests for the beginning and the end of the season.

For those that might not be aware, opponents for Weeks 7 and 9 were picked at random which accounts for some teams playing against each other in back to back weeks. Otherwise, all teams will play teams from the other division will play at least once in the season. There will be two teams from the other division that you will place twice.

The playoff teams have always been the division champion and the division runner-up, but this year's imbalance has made Dah Commish wonder if the Finks League should have wild card teams after division champs earn automatic playoff berths.

This season, the Starr has dominated 16-4-1 in head to head games against the Stabler Division. In Weeks 7, 8 and 9 crossovers, the Starr teams led 12-2-1.

Serk du fail?

If anything could go wrong for the defending champs, it seems it is for Serkus Act.

Owner Stan Goff already forgot that both of his QBs were on the bye in Week 5. That rarely happens for a veteran owner.

But Serkus also suffered another devastating loss when RB Charles KC tore his right ACL during the Week 5 Bears game. Charles joins the list of injured starters such as QB Romo DAL and WR Bryant DAL for Serkus. Goff is taking the gamble of keeping Bryant on his roster while hoping for his eventual return, but already replaced Romo with QB Newton CAR.

"Wow. First Dez gets hurt. Then Romo and now Charles. The football gods do not want me to defend my Finks title," Goff wrote after Week 5.

Bulldogs, Prayer pull 6-player deal

It's take two to tango on a trade, but it all starts with one proposal.

With a hot start for Dah Commish's Bulldogs, I thought it was time to deal despite having to offer only a pair of WR1s in D. Thomas DEN or Fitzgerald AZ. The Bulldogs have only had 28 Finks points of production from its quarterbacks since starter Roethlisberger PIT went out in Week 3. Roethlisberger scored 33 Finks points himself in just the first two weeks of the season.

After waking up Tuesday morning and taking a survey of a desperate QB situation for the Bulldogs with Mariota TEN and Taylor BUF to replace Roethlisberger (QB Stafford DET was released by the Bulldogs in Week 4), Dah Commish sent out a couple of emails to Finks owners with loaded QB situations seeking help.

Sean King of Prayer responded quickly. The Bulldogs and Prayer agreed on a six-player deal Tuesday morning involving WR Fitzgerald AZ and QB Rivers SD as the key principals in the deal. The Bulldogs also sent QB Mariota TEN and PK Lambo SD to Prayer. Prayer sent WR Tate DET, WR D. Jackson WAS to the Bulldogs and released inactive PK Parkey.

The trade is the first major deal of the Finks League season, coming just before Week 6.

Hopefully the trade works out for both teams, ironically since both Prayer and the Bulldogs are in the Stabler Division. Time will tell.

Week 4 review: Santos' big day

Though Finks League records to not exist for individual points scored in a given week, Sunday's huge day for Serkus PK Santos KC is likely a record since Dah Commish started asking for Player of the Week nominations at least three years ago.

For comparison's sake, Santos' seven field goals, plus two 50-plus kicks, totalled 32 Finks points. The highest Finks points scored by a single player in 2014 was 29 by Khans RB Lynch SEA in Week 10.

Santos' 32 points accounted for 55 percent of the scoring total for Serkus' 58-48 victory over the Brawlers. KC lost its game to the Bengals. 

Introducing My Roto at Rotoworld.com

I don't know about you, but I am always looking for some gadget to help simplify my lineup choices week to week. As I've discussed with former Barrels owner Chris Traczek, every fantasy website in the world tries to predict week to week success for individual players, but it's all hogwash. You don't know with any certainty how mediocre players will do week to week.

I used to use a website called KFFL.com to keep track of my Finks League players, but that site was taken over by USA Today a year ago and dropped its Team Tracker service. I have found another Team Tracker service at Rotoworld.com under its My Roto link. You input your roster under the "Manage Players" link to the right and the site gives you updates on each of your players.

It's free. To sign up on Rotoworld.com, here's the link. 

The picture above is a screen shot of My Roto with a couple of sample briefs on two of my Bulldogs players. Hope this helps. 

Week 2 review: Rookie winners

Congrats to rookie owners Anthony Quagliano of the Jays and Sean King of Prayer for wins in their Finks League debuts in Week 1.

The Jays beat defending Finger Bowl champion Serkus 38-28 behind QB Brady NE's 17 Finks points on Thursday Night Football. Prayer won 43-16 over the Khans with help from PK Bryant ATL's 21 points on Monday Night Football.

In Week 2, the Jays face the Distillers and Prayer takes on the Bulldogs.

Auction 2015 comments

Finks owners shared a few comments after Saturday's auction. Here is a highlight from defending champion Stan Goff of Serkus:

"Lineups look pretty balanced and I’m ready for some football. (Boy George, hope you didn’t pull an all-nighter getting these done, but Thanks.)

Sean, wow, welcome to the league. You landed FOUR stud RBs and a really nice team.
I think I got pretty much every player I went after (except at Kicker)…yet I look at others getting AP for 1.02, and George getting THREE starting RB behind CJ Anderson for a combined  12 CENTS and I am reminded of how crazy and unique this draft is.

Hurricane Quags are sure ready to roll with the Colts this year, what with Luck, Hilton and Andre Johnson….Hope I get to face Dick when Indy has a Bye…and Dan has had great luck with Brees and Megratron in the past, so I can see some celebrating in Lockport on Sundays this fall."