Not a Fantasy: Newton wins first Finger Bowl

PITTSBURGH -- Shrewd pickups and a rare quarterback start for his backup gave Just a Fantasy owner Jeff Newton his first Finger Bowl championship in Week 17 with a record-setting rout over defending champion Ham N Eggers at Three Rivers Stadium.

Newton started backup QB A. Smith KC over Prescott DAL as Smith scored a game-high 17 points to nab MVP honors for Fantasy, a 51-16 winner over the Eggers. Fantasy's 35-point margin of victory in Finger Bowl 23 set a new championship record, topping the 28 points Mike Wilcox scored over Bill Stone in Finger Bowl 1 in a pairing of Hall of Fame owners.

For the victory, Newton will earn $378.75 for the title in his 14th season. He was the longest tenured owner without a Finger Bowl championship after placing second in 2006 and 2004.

Fantasy placed second in the Duerson Division after a pair of losses to the Eggers in the regular season by an average of 30 points. Fantasy (10-6-1) also was powered by 16 points by PK Hauschka SEA, a Week 15 free agent pickup for Newton after Hauschka was released by the Duluth Eskimos midway through the season.

Fantasy started QB Prescott DAL in the second half of the season after picking up Prescott in Week 9. Fantasy released QB Bradford MIN to find a spot for Prescott.

Newton will gain possession of the Abe Gibron Trophy for the following year.

The Eggers win $126.25 as the runner-up and placed second for the fifth time in six years.

In the third-place match, the Brawlers defeated the Distillers 46-32.

Week 17 boxscore: Finger Bowl 23

Just a Fantasy 51, Ham N Eggers 16

Fantasy (51)

A. Smith KC 17
J. Rodgers TB 3
Blount NE 6
Evans TB 6
Meredith CHI 3
Hauschka SEA 16

Eggers (16)

Cousins WAS 8
D. Johnson AZ zero
Beckham JR. NYG zero
Kelce KC zero
Bryant ATL 8

Week 17 Boxscore: Third place

Dublin Brawlers 46, Lockport Distillers

Brawlers (46)

Brady NE 15
Freeman ATL 9
McCoy BUF zero
Adams GB 13
T. Williams SD zero
Prater DET 9

Distllers (32)

Brees NO 15
Rawls SEA 6
D. Murray TEN zero
S. Smith Sr. BAL zero
Garcon WAS 3
Crosby GB 8

Week 17: Finger Bowl 23 preview

Just a Fantasy (9-6-1) at Ham N Eggers (10-6)

At Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh

Playoff records: Fantasy owner Newton (6-7); Eggers owner Miazga (7-8-1)

Finger Bowl records: Newton (0-2); Miazga (1-4)

Head to head: Eggers 60, Fantasy 43 (Week 5); Eggers 55, Fantasy 18 (Week 14)

The skinny: The 2016 Finks League championship features the Duerson Division champion (Eggers) against the runner-up (Fantasy)... The Eggers hope to defend their 2015 championship and become the league's first back-to-back champ since Goff won Finger Bowls 16 & 17... In his 19th season, Miazga has set three postseason league records with his sixth Finger Bowl appearance, his sixth consecutive playoff appearance and his ninth playoff appearance... The Eggers won Finger Bowl 22 with a 31-24 win over Quags... The Eggers' 89 points in the semifinals is an unofficial high for a Finks postseason. The regular season record for a single game remains 90 points scored by Simo's Chicago Blitz in 1995. ... Newton last appeared in the championship at Finger Bowl 13 in 2006 as the owner of Eye of Newt... He lost to the Ponz Scum, 34-19, in that final and also appeared in Finger Bowl 11.

In other postseason action, the Brawlers (9-7) meet the Distillers (10-5-1) for third place.

Projected starters: Fantasy -- Prescott, Blount, Powell, Evans, Crowder, Hauschka; Eggers -- Cousins, Peterson, D. Johnson, Beckham Jr., Kelce, Gostkowski.

The pick: Eggers 45, Fantasy 25

Week 16: Semifinal boxscores

Ham N Eggers 89, Dublin Brawlers 32

BRAWLERS (32)

Brady NE 12
McCoy BUF 11
Freeman ATL zero
Adams GB 6
Mitchell NE  zero
Janikowski OAK 3

EGGERS (89)

Cousins WAS 20
L. Bell PIT 17
D. Johnson AZ 21
Beckham Jr. NYG 7
Kelce KC 13
Gostkowski NE 11

Just a Fantasy 38, Lockport Distillers 21

FANTASY (38)

Prescott DAL 12
Blount NE 12
Powell NYJ zero
Evans TB 9
Crowder WAS zero
Hauschka SEA 5

DISTILLERS (21)

Brees NO 8
D. Murray TEN zero
Rawls SEA zero
Crabtree OAK 3
Fitzgerald AZ zero
Crosby GB 10

Week 16: Semifinal previews

Dublin Brawlers (9-6) at Ham N Eggers (9-6)

At Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pa.

Playoff record: Herigodt, Brawlers (3-1); Miazga, Eggers (6-8-1)

Head to head: Brawlers 28, Eggers 23 (Week 7); Eggers 65, Brawlers 60 (Week 12)

The skinny: Eggers owner Miazga won his first Finger Bowl title in 2015 and will attempt to become the first repeat champion since Goff's Serkus from 2009-10.... This semifinal marks the first playoff battle between the league's only husband-wife owners, which should make for interesting football watching this weekend at the family's Elmhurst home.... The Brawlers-Eggers finshed 1-2 in their division in 2015.... The Brawlers and Eggers also reached the postseason in 2011 when the Eggers placed second... The Eggers are powered by their RB combination, among the best in the NFL this season.

Projected starters: Eggers -- Cousins, D. Johnson, L. Bell, Beckham Jr., Eifert, Bryant; Brawlers -- Brady, McCoy, Freeman, Adams, Mitchell, Janikowski.

The pick: Eggers 45, Brawlers 30.

Just a Fantasy (8-6-1) at Lockport Distillers (10-4-1) 

At East Campus Field, Lockport, Ill.

Playoff record: Newton, Fantasy (8-6-1); Cassidy, Distillers (3-2-1)

Head to head: Tied 28-28 (Week 13)

The skinny: It could be another close battle after the two teams provided the only draw in the league this season.... The Distillers raced out to the best record in the league, but could be hampered by the unknown injury status of RB M. Gordon SD.... Distillers owner Cassidy won a Finger Bowl title in 2011. Fantasy's Newton seeks his first league title since joining in 2002. He placed second in '06 and '04.

Projected starters: Distillers -- Brees, Rawls, D. Murray, Fitzgerald, Crabtree, Crosby; Fantasy -- Prescott, Blount, Powell, Evans, Crowder, Hauschka.

The pick: Distillers 40, Fantasy 35.

Week 15: One playoff berth remaining

With the Distilers clinching the title for the Seau Division championship, all of the intrigue in the Finks League playoff race comes down to the Seau runner-up. Entering Week 15, the Brawlers and Cats meet to decide the last playoff qualifier.

The Brawlers get in with a win in Week 15 over the Cats. The Cats hope to force a tie and would need to count on the points scored tiebreaker on the season. The Brawlers already hold the season advantage with a 41-32 victory over the Cats in Week 2.