Week 3 roundup: Here come the byes

Week 4 begins the NFL bye season with CAR and WAS taking the weekend off. I dread byes in order to get more games in during the regular season.

The CAR and WAS absences hardly shake up the Finks League week. Likely missing from starting lineups will be Independents' RB McCaffrey CAR and Eggers' RB Peterson WAS.

Woulda, Coulda, Shoulda -- Damn it

How many times in the history of a fantasy football does an owner take themselves to the woodshed for their own kind of whooping?

In Week 1, Miaza's Eggers would have won if they used WR Hill KC as a starter, instead of leaving his 25 Finks points on the bench. Dah Commish's Independents would have been a winner with WR Stills MIA (17 points) as a starter. Sometimes fantasy can just be plain frustrating. A. Quags' Jays started eventual Player of the Week -- RB Kamara NO (25 points) -- but couldn't win.

After Week 1, both father and son Quaglianos are 0-1. Defending champion Goff's Serkus and Wanberg made his debut with the Spotters with a tie, something Finks League did not have all last season.

And so it goes...

Auction 2018 wrap up

And we're off...

The 25th season for the Finks League has begun with Sunday's annual auction. Each year, owners provide quite a diverse bid sheets. Some owners send long lists of penny players while other owners send in hardly any names at all.

As the commissioner since Day 1, I have never seen one kind of bid sheet that ends up helping crown a Finger Bowl champion. It's a long year ahead with plenty of free-agent pickups and perhaps a trade or two along the way.

Here's my recap of the auction, which was held in the basement bunker of my modest home in Darien. Good luck to you all.

You're the tops: These players owned the highest bids. QB Rodgers GB ($38.23 by the Spotters), outbidding one other owner with a $31 bid. RB Gurley LAR ($34.25 for the Jays). WR A. Brown PIT ($33.51 for Quags), beating bids of $31 and $27.33, and PK Zuerlein LAR ($5.04 for the Eggers).

Three of a kind: There were three blind draws conducted for marginal players. All three tie-breaking blind draws were for players with bids of 10 cents or less.

Kick me: Jays owner Anthony Quagliano placed only three bids for PKs at one penny each. Not surprisingly, he did not pick up a kicker in the auction.

Quags Report: Hurricanes boss Dick Quagliano did the math after his auction returns. Quags reports that $99.59 of his allotment went toward all of his players in the draft. In short, Quags got nearly player he wanted on his bid sheet. He bid on only 17 players and ended up with 11.

What's left? Using the rankings of CBS Sports fantasy football writer Jamey Eisenberg (Non-PPR), here are the top remaining players available via free-agent pickup after Week 1:

QB Wentz PHI (ranked No. 12), RB J. Williams GB (No. 21), WR Smith-Schuster PIT (No. 18) and PK McManus DEN (No. 14).

Week 17: Goff wins record fourth Finger Bowl

BARBOO, Wis. -- Serkus Act owner Stan Goff won a record fourth Finger Bowl with a 34-29 victory over Hurricane Quags in the 24th annual Finks League championship match.

Driven by WR Baldwin SEA's 15 points to claim Finger Bowl MVP, Goff averted an 18-point effort from Quags QB Rivers LAC and received a dose of luck when usual starter, RB Hunt KC, scored a touchdown while on the bench for Quags.

The Finger Bowl final featured a matchup of first and second place in the Tomlinson Division. The two teams split their season series.

Goff was tied with Mike Wilcox and Matt Simo as a three-time Finks champ after previously winning Finger Bowls from 2009-10 and in 2014. Quags finished as the runner-up for the second time in three years.

Goff won the title despite making a season-low two transactions. He picked up WR Kupp LAR and PK Zuerlein LAR in Week 2 while releasing WR Robinson JAX and PK Lambo LAC. Kupp did not start FB 24 and Zuerlein was placed in the NFL's injured reserve list after Week 15.

From Quags: "Congrats on the win.

I was up 29-19 and Walsh nailed a 49 yarder, Baldwin scored and then went over 75 yards and Walsh added an extra point to fuel your 34-29 comeback win.

For me, it came done to first running plays. I played Perine at running back because Hunt wasn't supposed to play. Perine goes down with an ankle injury on his first carry and leaves the game. Then Hunt, who was not supposed to dress, comes in for one running play when his backup was sick. he scores on a 35-yard run on his only carry."

From Goff: "Wow. I didn't see that coming. I thought when Elliott failed to score a TD and Brady was so-so that I was toast." 

Goff earns $383.25 for the championship win while Quags claims $127.75

Week 17: Finger Bowl 24 boxscore

SERKUS 34, QUAGS 29

Quags (29)
QB Rivers LAC 18
RB Perine WAS zero
RB Ingram NO zero
WR Gordon CLE 5
TE Gronkowski NE zero
PK Gano CAR 6

Serkus (34)
QB Brady NE 6
RB E. Elliott DAL 5
RB Ajayi PHI zero
WR D. Bryant DAL zero
WR Baldwin SEA 15
PK Walsh SEA 8

Week 17: One point spells difference for Eggers

PITTSBURGH -- WR Tate DET's one-point conversion catch gave the Eggers a 42-41 victory over Gaga in the third-place game for the Finks League.

Gaga received big boost from PK Dawson AZ, who scored 23 points.

Eggers owner Mike Miazga finished in the top three for the seventh consecutive season.

EGGERS 42, GAGA 41

Gaga (41)
QB Manning NYG 3
RB Powell NYJ zero
RB Coleman ATL zero
WR D. Thomas DEN 6
WR Golladay DET 9
PK Dawson AZ 23

Eggers (42)
QB Wilson SEA 9
RB Kamara NO 15
RB McCaffrey CAR zero
WR Fitzgerald AZ zero
WR Tate DET 12
PK Gostkowski NE 6

Week 17: Finger Bowl 24 preview

HURRICANE QUAGS (13-3) at SERKUS ACT (13-3)
at Baraboo West High School, Baraboo, Wis. (Home of the Circus World Museum)

Playoff records: Quags (5-6); Goff (9-8)

Head to head: Quags 46, Serkus 45 (Week 2); Serkus 29, Quags 22 (Week 11)

The skinny: Like the Ringling Brothers, this might be the final clown show for owner Stan Goff under the Serkus Act banner. Goff announced earlier this month that Serkus might fold its tent and could return next season under a different nickname. For veteran Finks League owners, Goff hasn't always used the Serkus name. Serkus Act has been around for 12 years. For Finks trivia buffs, Goff's last previous nickname before becoming the Serkus Act was The Mighty Rysters  in 2005, in reference to his son, Ryan. This could also be the final game for Serkus using its familiar Killer Clown helmets. In the opinion of Dah Commish, Serkus features the best helmet logo in the league. But sometimes all good things must end. ... This year's Finger Bowl features the first and second place finishers in the Tomlinson Division. ... FB 24 features a pair of veteran Finks League owners between Goff and Quags. The two have combined as owners for 36 Finks seasons, 23 for Goff. Goff, Miazga and Dah Commish are the only remaining owners from the Finks League's second season in 1995. In Goff's first season, he was known as the Cowpokes. It is the first Finger Bowl meeting between Goff and Quags. It is also the first Finger Bowl meeting between 13-win teams. ... Goff has tied Miazga with his sixth Finger Bowl appearance (2000, 2002, 2009-10, 2014, 20017). Goff will be looking for a record-setting fourth FB title after winning in 2009-10 and 2014. The only other Finks owners with three titles are Mike Wilcox and Simo. ... Quags hopes to become the fifth Finks owner to win multiple FB titles. His Hurricanes beat the Sodor Rail-Layers 47-42 to win in 2007. ... Goff has tied Simo with nine playoff wins to lead all Finks owners. ... Quags' previous Finger Bowl appearance was a 31-24 loss to the Eggers in 2015.

Projected starters: Quags -- Rivers, Hunt, Ingram, Gronkowski, Gordon, Gano. Serkus -- Brady, E. Elliott, D. Murray, Baldwin, D. Bryant, Walsh.

The pick: Quags 35, Serkus 32.