The Stage is Set: Fantasy Bowl XXXII

Well the stage is set for Fantasy Bowl XXXII.  Two teams will try to win their second Fantasy Bowl Title and move into history and join the 9 franchises that have won more than one Fantasy Bowl.  They are the Chislers (5), Wrecking Crew (3), Crickets (2), Jewels (2), Crush (2), Maulers (2), Power (2), Mooches (2), and the Krauts (2).

Last week we saw a couple of not so close games as the Mafia and the Mayhem took care of their opponents on their way to Fantasy Bowl XXXII.

Mafia 75 Chislers 28

The Mafia whacked the Chislers completely.  In fact they broke the record for most points in a post season game with 75.  The previous record was 72 by the Killer Bees in 2002 over the Krauts.  The Chislers really had no chance in this game.  When you are playing against a team that has four players scoring 12 points or more you are pretty much toast. Blount had 12, David Johnson had 18 (potential league MVP), Dez “White” Bryant had 16, and Matt Bryant with 15.  Wow! 

 

Johnson scores one of his 3 TDs!

Mayhem 39 Crush 27

This game was a little closer but the Crush just couldn’t find enough offense to keep it close.  “Mother” Tucker for the Crush had 13 points and was team MVP.  Mayhem really opened it up with two TD runs by Thompson and then sealed it with a Tyreek Hill TD. 

Brees out dueled Winston

Fantasy Bowl XXXII

Michigan Mayhem at Mark’s Mafia (-4)

This Fantasy Bowl is a matchup between two wild card teams, proving all you have to do is get in.  Although the Mafia didn’t really seem like a wild card team with a record of 10-4.  Let’s see how these teams match up. 

QB – This game will have two veterans playing against each other, Drew Brees and Matt Ryan.  Brees comes into the game with 35 TDs and is always a threat to have one of those 4 TD Brees games.  But sometimes he can come out flat and get none.  This happened twice this year, but he has thrown for 4 TD in 4 games.  Ryan “Shark Eyes” has 34 TDs this season.  He has thrown at least one TD in every game this year.  But only has one 4 TD game.  This is about as a close of a QB match up as there is.

Advantage:  Draw.

Mafia have potential 10 point sideways connection

RB – The Mafia are a ground control team and usually always go with 2 RBs.  At press time they are listing Coleman in for Blount.  This may be a good move considering the match ups in the NFL.  The other back is league MVP candidate David Johnson.  He has 20 TDs on the season and has scored points in every game since Week 10.  The Mayhem will be going with a one back set with Chris Thompson who surprised everyone last week with 2 scores.  He only has 5 on the season, but 3 of them came in the past 3 weeks.  Clearly the Mafia, even if they just started Johnson would have the advantage here.

Advantage:  Mafia

 

David Johnson is a beast!

WR – The Mayhem come with 4 wide.  Tyreek Hill has clearly been the stand out lately.  He has 9 TDs on the season, including 3 rushing TDs.  Veteran Fitzgerald hasn’t scored since week 5.  Cole Beasley “Reese” has 6 TDs on the season and can be a threat.  Delanie Walker has been a nice surprise with 7 TDs.  The Mafia have big play threats in Dez Bryant, who had 16 points last week, and Golden Tate (only 3 TDs).  J.J. Nelson has become a nice addition, scoring points in his last 4 games.  Nelson matches up with Hill, but Beasley is no match for Bryant.

Advantage: Mafia

Dez says call me up when you get some real receivers

Kicker and Defense – Interestingly enough both teams have the kicker that plays for the same team as their QB, so 5 points connection on every pass.  “Lug nut” Lutz for the Mayhem and Bryant for the Mafia.  Slight advantage to the Mafia on this one, but will really come down to how many points the Falcons score vs. the Saints.  On Defense the Mayhem have the Chiefs which gives them a potential 12 point play with Hill returning kicks.  The Mafia have home town favorite Buccaneers. 

Advantage: Mayhem

 

I'll see your sideways 10 point and raise you a 12 point ST connection

Cowherd says:  “With the Mafia ground game it will be hard the Mayhem to get anything going offensively.  Hill is a dynamic player but they will need more than one player to beat this team.  With only 4 points, I am going to swallow those points and take the Mafia to whack the Mayhem and bring the title back to Tony and Paulie Walnuts.”

CFFL Playoffs Round One

After the first round of the 2016 CFFL Playoffs its time to see "Where Colin was right, where Colin was wrong"

Crush 53 Cocktails 38
The Crush got 30 points from their running backs in a rare move in the CFFL, starting 3 RBs.  Wait you can't do that!  Well you can when Ty Montgomery is still listed as a WR.  The Cocktails gave them some trouble, but 30 points from two players were wasted in defeat.  Freeman scored 3 times and kicker Sturgis had 12 points.  This is the second year in a row that the Crush defeated the Cocktails in the first round of the playoffs.

Montgomery has made the wishbone a reality

Where Colin was right... "Crush were only getting one point, it seemed like a no brainer, taking the Number 1 seed team, not to mention the defending champs and only giving up one point.  This was an easy one.   Helped when the team could run the wishbone offense of Montgomery, Gillislee and McCoy."

Mayhem 34 Roulette 9
Roulette had  a complete meltdown in the first round, in perhaps one of the worst playoff performance in the history of the CFFL.  They were an odds on favorite to win it all coming into the playoffs with their deadly duo 10 point connection of Rodgers to Adams and Nelson.  Turned out they got no points from them at all.  If you would have told me that the Packers would score 30 points and Rodgers, Adams and Nelson would not have a single point I would have said you were nuts.  Mayhem really were lucky considering they got points from only 3 players, just happened that Brees had 16 and kicker "Triple" Lutz had 12.

Jennifer Hale interviews Brees after playoff win

Where Colin was wrong...sort of... "I didn't see this coming... I figured the 9 points were a lot but didn't expect the Roulette to completely fall flat on their face.  Rodgers will have a lot of answering to do for this complete collapse."

Chislers 33 Sinistars 28
This was a close one as the Sinistars started Kaepernick, much to the bewilderment of the public.  But the Sinistars owner was wise as Brady ended up with zero points and Kaepernick threw 2 TDs.  Unfortunately the Sinistars were not rewarded for their line up change as they ultimately couldn't put away the Chislers.  Chislers sealed the victory when Crabtree caught a TD pass which was reviewed by the officials and was determined there was a "Slice of blue" between Crabtree's heel and the out of bounds in the end zone.

Slice of Blue

Where Colin was right... "Vegas screwed this one up.  I mean you were giving me 2.5 and the 5 time champ Chislers?  Plus Tom Brady wasn't even playing...candy from a baby..or money"

Mafia 31 Dragons 25
The Dragons came out of the gates flying with their Giants connection of Manning, Beckham, and Gould, netting 19 points.  Add 6 from Stills and it was 25-0 at the half.  But the Mafia had a lot of fire power coming late, and in the Bunker the consensus was the Dragons better get more that 30 points to have a chance.  That was a "Where the Bunker was right" moment.  As the Mafia matched Manning's 8 with Ryan's 8, but their Kicker Bryant had 11 points and super stud David Johnson had 2 more TDs (17 on the season now).  Dragons were still not out of it and needed a DeSean Jackson TD catch on Monday night for the win.  But it was not to be.

David Johnson scores again...and again..

Where Colin was wrong... "Well here Vegas knew something here.. push, but figured the Dragons would have been in it...just couldn't finish"

Next Weeks Semi Final Round:  4 teams face off.  All have won a Fantasy Bowl.  Chislers have 5, Crush have 2, Mayhem and Mafia have one each.  Who will get yet another title...

Mayhem(9-6) at Crush(12-3) (-4.5)
Mayhem will try to stop the new wishbone Crush offense that pounds you into submission as they will likely start Gillislee (8 TDs), McCoy (13 TDs), and Montgomery (3 in last 2 weeks).  Winston will take the snaps again, and has rookie sensation Michael Thomas to throw to.  "Mother" Tucker just doesn't miss, and has 124 points.  The Mayhem  have veteran Brees who has 34 TDs on the season and Tyreek Hill with 54 points.  After that the Mayhem are slightly weak and really have no RBs (McKinnon and Thompson...eh, what?)..

"Mother" Tucker sings after every game...

Cowherd says:  "Listen, the Mayhem just don't have the fire power to keep up with the red hot Crush.  4.5 won't be enough in this match up.  Swallow those points and take the Crush as they go for their 3rd Fantasy Bowl.

Mafia(11-4) at Chislers( 9-6) (+1.5)
Chislers battled to get in the playoffs.  They then hung on to win in the first round...does this sound at all familiar?  Well lately, their Fantasy Bowl Championships have been won on Chisler luck and looks like they are doing it again.  They will rely on the arm of Philip Rivers (per usual) and their WRs.  Don't count on too much from their backs of Gurley and Asiata.  Crabtree and Brown will be key to victory along with newly acquired Taylor Gabriel who has scored 6 TDs in the past 8 weeks.  The Mafia have a heavy reliance on the Falcons as they take the field with Matt "Shark eyes" Ryan, Tevin Coleman, and kicker Matt Bryant.  David Johnson has 17 TDs on the year and have the threat of JJ Nelson and Dez Bryant.

Cowherd says:  "Not often I take all favorites, but Mafia are truly a better than a wild card team.  With their running attack they will control the game and win by a field goal.  I don't believe in this Chisler luck, I go by the players that take the field."

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from the Cherry Fantasy Football League

CFHL Week 9

Here is a quick recap of the Week 9 action in the CFHL.

Assassins vs. Krampus Carols 7-2
The holiday season or otherwise known as Krampus season, hasn't been kind to the Krampus as they lose their 2nd in a row, this time to the Assassins.  The Assassins kept pace with the Crew with the win.  The Krampus put up some good offensive numbers winning both goals and assists led by Tatar's 3 goals and Stone's 5 assists, but Assassins swept all other categories.  Bobrovsky earned the Number One Star honors for the game earning 3 wins, a 1.66 GAA and .932 SV%.

Bobrovsky has been red hot lately

AshBusters vs. Who Gives a Puck 6-1
AshBusters remained in first in the Smythe division defeating the Puck 6-1.  Their Sharks connection of Pavelski and Burns led the way as Pavelski had 3 goals and the Bearded Burns had 4 assists.  The Ashbusters finally got some decent play between the pipes as Darling had 4 wins for the week!

Burns (88) and Pavelski (8) have been all smiles!

Mayhem On Ice vs. Checkers 5-2
The Mayhem stayed with the AshBusters in the Smythe by handing the Checkers their 7th loss of the season.  Checkers, however, are starting to figure this out, despite the loss as they had 10 goals and 14 assists along with 104 FOW.  But it wasn't enough as they can't buy a Goalie category for the life of them.  Artemi Panarin was the Number One Star for the Mayhem as he had 3 goals, 7 assists a +5 and 2 PPG!!

Panarin (right) must have been on Santa's nice list

White Mambas vs. Slow Icin 6-3
The White Mambas earned victory behind their goalies who combined for some pretty impressive stats.  5 wins, 1.90 GAA and .938 SV%.  (Martin Jones and Matt Murray)  Not a bad duo in net for the Mambas.  Every player on the Mambas scored a goal except 2 skaters too.

Murray has been big for the Mambas

Goon Crew vs. USSR 7-2
The Goon Crew easily defeated the USSR, keeping the Assassins only 1 point behind them in the Norris division.  Again the Goalies for the Goon Crew helped them win the game as Dubnyk and Lundqvist combined for 5 wins, an incredible 1.18 GAA and .962 SV%!!

It was Ugly Christmas Lundqvist Sweater night

Next week's game of the week:  Goon Crew vs. Assassins - Assassins only a point behind the Crew and are looking to dethrone them in the Norris Division.

Sorry, but likely not going to be a write up next week for the Goon Crew owner will be scouting some talent in the Southwest Florida theater of Operations next week.... Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!!

CFFL Week 14: Who took care of their business??

Well the regular season is over in the CFFL and the playoffs are set.  Who took care of their business and who did not??

WHO TOOK CARE OF THEIR BUSINESS?

THE CRUSH DID!  They held off the Bums who came into Sunday night with Prescott and Elliott.  But 11 points from Tucker Monday and only 4 from the Bums super Rookies gave the Crush their 2nd consecutive West Division Title.  AND THE BUMS DID NOT TAKE CARE OF THEIR BUSINESS.  A win would have put them in the playoffs.  Now they sit home for the holidays with the rest of us stiffs....

Brady heaves the game winner!

THE SINISTARS DID!  In a thriller vs. the Mafia, which DID NOT TAKE CARE OF THEIR BUSINESS, the Sinistars defeated the Mafia preventing them any chance to win the West.  Sinistars solidified their #2 Wild Card spot.  Down 26-22 to Mafia, it was quickly 32-22 as Blount scored a TD.  But never count out Tom Brady.  He would hit 2 more TDs to make the game 32-30 and then late in the game would fire a bomb for a game winning TD, 34-32!!

THE DRAGONS DID! The Dragons needed to win to give them a chance to win the South, and then rely on their brother to beat the Mayhem.  Dragons did what they needed to do hammering the hated Bees 36-10, led by 12 points from their Falcon D/ST and of course the big 10 point connection that put the game away late Sunday as Manning hit Beckham on a long TD pass.

Beckham helps the Dragons win the South!

THE MAYHEM DID NOT!  All the Mayhem had to do was to beat the lowly Titans and the South was theirs.  Not so fast my friend.  Blood apparently thicker than water as the Titans helped out their brother Dragons holding off the Mayhem 30-27.  Mayhem needed just one score from Cole Beasley "Reese" on Sunday night to win.  Did not happen.  They do however still make the playoff as a Wild Card Team.

A rare TD by Gurley

THE CHISLERS DID!  Needing a win to keep their King of the North dreams alive, the Chislers defeated an otherwise lifeless Ferrets team 30-18, despite thinking they were going to lose all day long...A rare Todd Gurley TD and a Taylor "Gabe" Gabriel TD sealed the win for the Chislers and the North.

THE CREW DID NOT!  All the Crew had to do was win.  Didn't matter what the Chislers did.  Well this game was over Thursday night, when the Crew, heavily invested in Raiders and Chiefs (Carr, Cooper, Roberts, Janikowski and Spencer Ware) came away with only 7 points.  They promptly lost 30-9 to the Animals, certainly not deserving a spot in the playoffs...

THE COCKTAILS DID NOT! The Cocktails needed a win to solidify a spot in the Wild Card.  The Juggs would have nothing to do with that and smacked them in the mouth 38-30 led by 18 huge points by Labia Bell.  But as Luck would have it, pun INTENDED, the Cocktails would turn their attention to routing for the Crush to win, to beat the Bums and put the Cocktails in the playoffs.  Careful what you wish for as now you will be playing the number 1 seed Crush.

Bell ran in 3 TDs!!

THE KRAUTS DID NOT!  The Krauts, who even if they had won, still only had an outside chance at getting in.  They put up a good fight, but would fall to 3, count them 3 10 point connections by the Roulette!  Rodgers hit Nelson for 2 and Adams for 1.  This team is dangerous....They were suppose to just sit back and relax...

Rodgers heaving a 10 point connection

With the Playoffs set, let's take a look at the match ups for Round 1:

(8)Molotov Cocktails (7-7) at (1)Calbucki's Crush (11-3) (-1)
A very small spread for a 1 vs. 8 match up.  Lots of money being bet on the upstart Cocktails apparently. Crush are defending Champs.  They have a pair of Bill RBs McCoy and Gillislee.  I like McCoy.  Eifert has been solid and Tucker just doesn't miss.  But the Cocktails have Murray (12 TDs) along with Luck.  Plus you never know about "Boyd"Crowder.  Rudolph may be too busy getting ready for Santa.  This game should be close.

Cowherd says:  "I only have to swallow 1 points while getting the defending champs at home?  Take the Crush and swallow the point!"

(7)Michigan Mayhem (8-6) at (2)Russian Roulette (10-4) (-9)
The Mayhem will have to travel all the way to Moscow to take on the Roulette.  Snow showers are expected.  The Roulette with Rodgers, Adams and Nelson are deadly.  Carlos Hyde and Jimmy Graham are no slouches either.  Mayhem got 18 points from special teams last week.  Don't count on that again.  They do have Brees and if he has one of his 4-5 TD games, they may have a chance.

Cowherd says:  "Its the playoffs and that is a huge number.  I know the Mayhem are traveling all the way to Moscow.  I know that the Roulette have Rodgers and his Packer receivers.  But that is still a lot of points to swallow.  Take the Mayhem and the 9 points, but expect the Roulette to prevail."

(6)Stamm's Sinistars (9-5)  at Cherry's Chislers (8-6) (+2.5)
Chislers, a home dog to the Sinistars to open the playoffs.  The Chislers have line up issues as they keep second guessing changes, so I don't know who will start!  All I know is that Rivers and Brown will definitely will be in.  They have a plethora of WRs that, besides Brown, have 4-7 TDs, so insert any of them.  The Sinistars, led by Tom Brady,  will be slowed by the loss of Melvin Gordon.  They still have Evans but injuries have depleted the backfield.

Cowherd says: "You're telling me I can get the 5 time champ Chislers at home and GET 2.5 points!?  Take the Chislers!  You get a seasoned champion that always finds ways to win in the playoffs!"

(5) Mark's Mafia (10-4) at Monclova Dragons (8-6) (+6)
Mafia are a big road favorite.  Why is that you ask?  They come into the game with Matt Ryan (30 TDs), LeGarrette Blount (14 TDs), David Johnson (15 TDs), not to mention Dez Bryant.  Compared to Dragons' Manning (23 TDs), Ajayi (7 TDs), DeMarco Murray (12 TDs).  That's why.  But wait, not so fast.  Dragons also have Beckham and his 9 10 point connections on the year.

Cowherd says: "Now I get a division winner at home getting almost a TD??  What is going on here Vegas?  Yes the Mafia have a dangerous running attack, but with Manning and Beckham Dragons should be in this till the end.  Take the Dragons plus the points!"

Next week we take a look at "Where Colin was right, where Colin was wrong with Kristine Leahy

CFHL Week 8

It was a snowy end to the week and even though there is a long way to go in the seasons, the division leaders are beginning to pull away some...

Assassins vs. Checkers 8-0
Assassins continue to keep the pressure on the Crew in the Norris, this week hammering the fading Checkers.  There really wasn't a category that was close, plus the Assassins recorded less than 100 FOW (92) for the first time all year and still won that one by 20.  The Assassins goalies were the story of this game getting 5 wins, a 1.40 GAA and .941 SV% between Bobrovsky and Price.  Not to shabby...

These two were impressive for the Assassins

AshBusters vs. Mayhem on Ice 5-3
The AshBusters defeated the Mayhem to tie them for the division.  It was somewhat close but Mayhem couldn't pull it off even with 4 assists on Sunday.  The AshBusters lead was too much to overcome in Hits, FOW and +/-.  In fact the Mayhem only had one player to take face offs as Mayhem center Galchenyuk injured his knee on Tuesday.  Kadri had 28 FOW for the AshBusters

Kadri helped the AshBusters to victory

Goon Crew vs. Krampus Carols 5-4
Amazingly the Crew pulled off this win despite being behind all week and getting hammered in Goals, Assists and PPG.  Krampus had 11 goals and 17 assists led by Duchene's 3 goals and Stone's 2 goals and 2 assists.  Goon Crew racked up 109 FOW led by Bergeron's 40.  The story of the game was Dubnyk, once again.  He tallied 3 wins, 1.62 GAA and .943 SV% and his game on Sunday basically won the game for the Crew.  Pastrnak had 5 goals for the Crew as well in a great individual effort.

Dubnyk has kept the Crew in first place

White Mambas vs. USSR 5-4
Mambas came on with some scoring this week scoring 12 goals and a crazy 21 assists! Kessel had 5 assists, Tarasenko had 4 asssists while Malkin and Hossa each had 3 goals for the Mamba.   Yet again USSR shined at the face off circle tallying an incredible 220 FOW, every player not playing on the blue line took face offs with Stastny getting 51 wins.  Goalies battled to nearly a draw specially between Murray for Mambas and Holtby for USSR.

Kessel had 5 assists for Mambas

Who Gives a Puck vs. Slow Icin' 6-1
Who Gives a Puck had little trouble with Icin racking up 15 goals, 18 assists and a +13 not to mention 149 FOW!  Number One Star of the game was Claude Giroux who had 2 goals, 4 assist, +5 and 65 FOW!  Sid the Kid had 4 goals for the Puck.  Goalies in this game were something to be desired as they both had GAA over 3.00 and SV% of .890 and .897.

CFFL Just take care of your business!

Wrecking Crew (-4.5) at Animals - Crew, just win and win the division.  JUST TAKE CARE OF YOUR BUSINESS!

Ferrets at Chislers (-7) - Chislers, just beat the Ferrets to have a chance at division title or good chance to solidify your wild card spot.  JUST TAKE CARE OF YOUR BUSINESS!

Bums at Crush (-5.5) - Crush, hold serve at home and beat the Bums to win the division.  Bums, beat the Crush and hope for the best for a wild card berth.  JUST TAKE CARE OF YOUR BUSINESS!

Sinistars at Mafia (-1) - Mafia, just win to have a shot at division title.  Sinistars, just win to solidify your wild card spot.  JUST TAKE CARE OF YOUR BUSINESS!

Dragons (-4.5) at Bees - Dragons, just take care of these hated Bees for the chance to win the division.  JUST TAKE CARE OF YOUR BUSINESS!

Titans at Mayhem (-11) - Mayhem, just beat the basement dwelling Titans and win your division.  JUST TAKE CARE OF YOUR BUSINESS!

Juggernauts at Cocktails (-4) - Cocktails, just defeat the Juggs and solidify your spot in the wild card.  JUST TAKE CARE OF YOUR BUSINESS!

Krauts at Roulette (-8.5) - Krauts, just win if you can and the start praying!  JUST TRY TO TAKE CARE OF YOUR BUSINESS. (Roulette, sit back and relax...)