Auction notes: 2021 version

 

And so Season No. 28 of the Finks League kicked off Sunday night with our annual silent-bid auction...

A few notes on the upcoming season, first. Spotters owner D.J. Wanberg has changed his email address. Please update your contact list with his different email address, which is now listed on his roster. Also, the 2021 season has returned to the 15-week schedule format now that the NFL has expanded its regular season. Hooray with an additional week of Finks League.

And onto the auction:

• Gaga owner Sean King had one of the more unusual bid sheets in recent years with $5 only bids on several non-kickers, but then switching to $10 bids on his two favorite kickers. 
• Wanberg was shut out on all nine of his RB bids, but spent more money on a single WR instead of his entire crop of requested RBs. 
• The auction featured one blind draw for equal bids featuring WR Boyd CIN between Mafia and the Distillers. The lovely designated "picker," 13-year-old Anna Wilcox, selected the draw by taking the slip of paper with the Distillers' name on it. 
• Top bidders by position: QB Mahomes KC $35.11 by Quags; RBs McCaffrey CAR and Henry TEN, $35.53 each, by the Jays; WR Hill KC (pictured above) $32.08 by Spotters; Ks Tucker BAL and Butker KC, $10.00 each, by Gaga.

A Finks tradition unlike any other

 

In an annual family tradition, I leave it to my youngest daughter Anna to pull the Finks League team names out of a hat to determine the division teams every season. 

She does it because she's a good sport. She picks a slip of paper with each nickname and then reads them off to be as I jot down the name. It also give me a chance to explain to her what a still is and what a distillery creates. 

I also had to explain that Brady Gaga is a tribute to Lady Gaga. I think she has heard of both of them at 13 years old. So proud of her. 

Week 16: Diggs ignites Brawlers to title

LOCKPORT, Ill.  -- Twenty-three Finks points for WR Diggs BUF on Monday Night Football, turned a probable defeat into an amazing comeback for the Dublin Brawlers in Finger Bowl 27.

The Brawlers entered the MNF contest trailing the Lockport Distillers by 13 points, but Diggs won the game for the Brawlers, 58-48, with his three touchdowns and five-point bonus yardage. For being the top scorer on the championship team, Diggs was named Finger Bowl MVP. 

The Brawlers (9-7), in a matchup of division runners-up, claimed their second Finger Bowl title in league history after last winning in 2008's Finger Bowl 15 with a 29-22 win over Creighton Barrels. 

Brawlers owner Kristin Herigodt joins four other owners as the only Finks League owners with multiple Finger Bowl titles. She joins Goff (4), Mike Wilcox (3), Simo (3) and Dah Commish (2). Herigodt also has one more title than her husband, Mike Miazga, the longime owner of the Eggers. Miazga won his only Finger Bowl in 2015. 

The Distillers (10-6) lost their second Finger Bowl in three years after suffering a 51-47 defeat to the Jays in 2018. 

BRAWLERS (58)

Brady TB 19

A. Jones GB 3

Carson SEA zero

Diggs BUF 23

Godwin TB 9

Crosby GB 4

DISTILLERS (48)

Brees NO 7

Cook MIN 6

Montgomery CHI 9

Thielen MIN 9

Hill KC zero

McManus DEN 17

Week 16: Fantasy takes third behind Kamara

GURNEE, Ill -- Led by RB Kamara NO's record-tying day in the NFL, Just a Fantasy claimed third place with a 79-49 victory over Chicago Heights Mafia. Kamara's 43 points alone nearly beat the Mafia.

Fantasy 79, Mafia 49

FANTASY (79)

Herbert LAC 8

Kamara NO 43

Swift DET zero

Adams GB 23

Jefferson MIN 3

Gould SF 2

MAFIA (49)

Rodgers GB 15

Henry TEN 3

E. Elliott DAL 5

Kupp LAR zero

Lamb DAL 12

Zuerlein DAL 14 

Week 16: Finger Bowl 27 preview

Dublin Brawlers (8-7) vs. Lockport Distillers (10-5)

at East Campus Field, Lockport, Ill.

Playoff records: Brawlers owner Herigodt (6-3); Distillers owner Cassidy (5-5-1)

Head to head: Distillers 64, Brawlers 32, week 8

The skinny: The last time division runners-up met in a Finger Bowl was 2015 when the Eggers defeated Quags. ... The Distillers advanced to the Finger Bowl for the second time in three years. The Distillers lost Finger Bowl 25 with a 51-47 defeat to the Jays in 2018. ... The Brawlers make their first return to a Finger Bowl since winning FB15, 29-22, over the Creighton Barrels in 2008. That championship was the only Finks League title for the Brawlers. ... The Distillers' only title was FB18, a 66-61 win over the Eggers in 2011. 

Projected starters: Brawlers -- Brady, A. Jones, Carson, Diggs, Metcalf, Crosby. Distillers -- Goff, Cook, Montgomery, Thielen, Hill, Bailey.

The pick: Distillers 45, Brawlers 40.

Week 15: semifinal boxscores

Brawlers hold off Fantasy for upset

GURNEE, Ill. -- QB Brady TB scored 15 points and RB A. Jones GB added 11 points as the division runner-up Dublin Brawlers stunned Bednarik Division champion Just a Fantasy 40-39 in the Finks League semifinals. 

Veteran Finks owner Mike Miazga said the match came down to a possible last drive for RB Kamara NO, but Kamara finished with 54 yards against KC.

The Brawlers will make their first Finger Bowl appearance since 2010 in Week 16. 

BRAWLERS (40)

Brady NE 15

A. Jones GB 11

Carson SEA zero

Diggs BUF 5

Metcalf SEA zero

Crosby GB 9

FANTASY (39)

Herbert LAC 19

Kamara NO 6

Drake AZ zero

Adams GB zero

Jefferson MIN 5

Carlson LV 9

Total effort pushes Distillers

CHICAGO HEIGHTS, Ill. -- In a key decision, Distillers owner Cassidy chose RB Montgomery CHI over RB Jacobs LV as a starter and it paid off as Montgomery scored a season-high 17 points to fuel the Distillers' 58-44 semifinal win over the host Mafia. 

Every starter scored for the Distillers, who return to the Finger Bowl for the second time in three years. The Distillers became the second division runner-up to beat a division champion in this year's Finks semifinals. 

DISTILLERS (58)

Goff LAR 9

Cook MIN 11

Montgomery CHI 17

Thielen MIN 6

Hill KC 6

Bailey MIN 9

MAFIA (44)

Rodgers GB 9

Henry TEN 11

Mostert SF zero

Kupp LAR zero

Lamb DAL 9

Zuerlein DAL 15

Week 15: semifinal previews

 Dublin Brawlers (7-7) vs. Just a Fantasy (10-4) 

at Warren High School Field, Gurnee, Ill.

Playoff records: Brawlers owner Herigodt (5-3); Fantasy owner Newton (8-8)

Head to head: Fantasy 50, Brawlers 43, week 12

The skinny: Newton earned his fourth division title in Finks history by winning the Bednarik Division, but it was his first since 2009. ... Both the Brawlers and Fantasy have won only one Finger Bowl title. Fantasy won in 2016 and the Brawlers in 2008. ... Brawlers reached the semifinals as the runner-up in the Gifford Division, winning the third tiebreaker over the Spotters to advance. ... What a difference a year makes. Fantasy lost seven consecutive games in 2019, but won seven consecutive matches in 2020. Fantasy's streak ended with a loss in Week 14. 

Projected starters: Brawlers -- Roethlisberger, A. Jones, Carson, Diggs, Metcalf, Crosby. Fantasy -- Herbert, Kamara, Drake, Adams, Jefferson, Carlson.

The pick: Fantasy 45, Brawlers 33

Lockport Distillers (9-5) vs. Chicago Heights Mafia (8-6)

at Sarff Field, Chicago Heights, Ill.

Playoff records: Distillers owner Cassidy (4-5-1); Mafia owner Goff (11-9)

Head to head: Distillers 33, Mafia 31, week 2

The skinny: The Finks League makes its playoff debut on the blue turf at the home of Bloom's Blazin Trojans. Mafia is in its first year as a franchise in the Finks League after dropping its longtime moniker of Serkus Act. ... Mafia owner Goff won the Gifford Division to claim his sixth division title in league history. ... The Distillers won the Finger Bowl in 2011, but Goff won four Finger Bowls in 2009-10, 2014 and 2017 as Serkus Act. With a win, Goff would add to his league record for playoff victories. He is the winningest owner in the playoffs and the only owner with double-digit playoff wins. ... The Distillers kept winning this season despite losing starting QB Brees NO to an injury. Meanwhile, the turning point to the season for Mafia was a Week-7, five-player trade for acquiring QB Rodgers GB from the Triangles. ... The Distillers had four different players this season to earn P.O.W. honors. Mafia star RB Henry TEN was one of two players this season to earn Finks P.O.W. honors at least two times. 

Projected starters: Distillers -- Goff, Cook, Montgomery, Hill, Thielen, McManus. Mafia -- Rodgers, E. Elliott, Henry, Thomas, Kupp, Zuerlein. 

The pick: Distillers 38, Mafia 35