CFHL Week 14

Nearing the All Star Break, here is the Week 14 action...

Who Gives a Puck vs. Goon Crew 5-3
It wasn't as much as the Puck beating the Crew as it was the Crew beating themselves with terrible Goalie play as Lundqvist ate a dick most of the week.  He gave up 7 goals on Tuesday!  Dubnyk didn't do much better giving up 10 goals in three games.  Puck did dominate in both FOW with 181 and assists with 29, leading all teams.  Sid "The Kid" Crosby lead with 6 assists and a +7.  

Yep...that's about right.

AshBusters vs. Checkers 6-3
The AshBusters continue to roll and the Checkers back on the skid.  AshBusters victory pulled them into first place in the Smythe Division by 2 points.  The Checkers had trouble trying to find the net, tallying only 3 goals.  Brent Burns the Bearded Wonder continued his unbelievable season as he netted 2 more goals for 19 on the season, leading all defensemen and hell most forwards for that matter...

Wolf Man having career season...

Assassins vs. USSR 6-3
The Assassins halted the assault of the Soviets were beginning to put on the CFHL.  The Assassins after starting 0-2 haven't lost a game yet, going 11-0-1 and lead the league.  The Assassins have always been strong in net, this week with Bobrovsky and Gibson.  Each had a 2 wins and combined for a 1.54 GAA.  Flip side was the USSR goalies as they only had one win and a putrid 6.20 GAA.  This after going 6 wins and a 2.00 GAA last week...

Bobrovsky has been key to Assassin's streak

White Mambas' vs. Mayhem on Ice 7-2
The White Mambas have quietly became a decent hockey squad knocking off one of the top teams in the Smythe.  They did it in impressive fashion, with a week leading 13 goals, 5 PPG, and 7 goalie wins between net minders Jones and Murray.  Malkin had 4 goals and 4 assists for the Mamba and D man Shattenkirk had 3 goals...Mayhem couldn't find a win with their net minders as they were crippled with only one starting goalie.

Malkin leading the Mambas

Krampus Carols vs. Slow Icin'  5-4
The Krampus Carols bounced back after last weeks loss to defeat the hapless Slow Icin'.  Mark Stone lead the Carols with 3 goals and both centers, Duchene and Scheifele had 2 goals.  They did win Goalie wins with only 2 but lost both GAA and SV% thanks to some pretty brutal play by Jake Allen who had a GAA of 9.53 and SV% of .600.  Slow Icin' had the same trouble as the Checkers in finding the back of the net with only 3 goals.

Is the Krampus back?

Anything can happen yet, with 9 more weeks to go.  Assassins are pulling away in the Norris, but with the Crew fading, it has opened up the door for the Mambas and Who Gives a Puck.  AshBusters and Mayhem seem to have the Smythe in control, but with the surge over the past 4 weeks by the USSR, they are in the mix too.  Krampus would need to put some more wins together and Slow Icin' with only 3 wins seems like a long shot.

This next week is a long one going through the All Star Break ending February 5...

CFHL Week 13 Update

Here is the Week 13 update on the games from last week.  With 13 weeks down we have 10 more to go in the regular season.

Game of the Week:  AshBusters vs. Goon Crew 4-3
This game got close late.  The AshBusters were in control most of the week.  They dominated in Goalie categories vs. a team that leads the league in goalie stats.  Rinne led the way for the AshBusters with 2 wins and a 1.44 GAA.  The Game got interesting when on Sunday Niskanen scroed 2 goals for the Crew in the third period tying the game!  The night would go on, and no one else got any scores until the very end.  With time running out, AshBusters forward Rakell scored to tie goals at 10 and win the game 4-3.  Both teams put up stats in almost every category that would beat most teams...

Rakell scored the game winner for the AshBusters

Checkers vs. Slow Icin' 6-2
Checkers finally get a win defeating Slow Icin' 6-2.  There wasn't too many categories that were close in this one.  Checkers led in most scoring categories and it came down to goalies, and the Checkers finally found some good net play from Luongo who tallied 2 wins, 1.68 GAA and .949 SV%.

USSR vs. Krampus Carols 7-2
The USSR have won 4 in a row and have moved into 3rd place, only 3 points out of first in the Smythe Division.  What at one point was a weak point, goalies, Holtby and Ward combined for an impressive 6 wins, 2.00 GAA and .932 SV%.  Didn't take much however to beat the Krampus goalies.  Only Allen played and he had no wins, an 8.00 GAA and .769% and Robin Lehner was out all week with the flu...

Holtby has been red hot for the USSR

Assassins vs. White Mambas 6-2
The Assassins keep rolling and with the Crew fading have opened up a 6 point lead in the Norris.  Backstrom led the Assassins skaters with 3 goals and 7 assists!  And once again the Assassins racked up FOW with 141.

Backstrom...hmmmmm...

Who Gives a Puck vs. Mayhem on Ice 6-3
Who Gives a Puck registered only their 4th win of the year.  A big reason for the win was Brad Marchand for the Puck who racked up 4 goals an 4 assists and a +5. The Puck rivaled the Assassins in FOW as they tallied 136 for the week having 4 players taking face offs,  Claude Giroux getting 44 of them.

Marchand earned top honors this week for the Puck

CFHL Update

With a few week hiatus from the CFHL news blog, its back...for now.  Here is a recap on where we are at thus far...

Smythe Division

Mayhem on Ice continues to lead this division by 2 points.  They have done it thus far with their offensive fire power.  One of the top goal scoring teams and are deadly on the power play.  Shining star of this team has been Patrik Laine who has 21 goals and 16 assists.  He sustained an injury this past week, and could be out for some time however...Only 2 points behind is the AshBusters, another team that can light the lamp as they lead the league in goals tied with Mayhem with 108 and leads the league in PPG with 44.  Only 4 players have less than 10 goals for the AshBusters...

Will the loss of Laine slow the Mayhem down?

The rest of the teams are sub .500; USSR, Krampus, and Slow Icin'.  USSR are on a 3 game win streak though and their strength has been in the face off circle as they lead all teams in FOW.  They have 4 skaters with over 400 FOW.  Mikko Koivu so far is the leader for team MVP with 12 goals, 16 assists, a +19 and 495 FOW...Krampus Carols and Slow Icin have struggled this year.  Krampus haven't got the goal scoring out of Kane they hoped although he has 32 asssits.  Goalies have been up and down...Its been slow going for the expansion team Slow Icin'.  With only 3 wins and only 2 players with 10 or more goals, its going to be a long year for Slow Icin'.

Koivu leads the USSR

Norris Division

The Assassins have opened up a 4 point lead over the Goon Crew as they continue to win and the Crew have been winless in last 3 games.  Both teams have done it with goal tending.  The teams are 1 and 2 in all three Goalie categories.  Assassins have Bobrovsky and Price, while the Crew have Dubnyk and Lundqvist.  That's a formidable foursome of goalies.  The Assassin are a touch better is their skaters.  The Crew have been at the bottom of the league in many of them and the Assassins were slightly above them not to mention they have won many of the skater categories with pretty mediocre stats....

Bobrovsky racking up wins for the Assassins

Outside of the top two teams in this division its like the Smythe Division with the rest of the teams looking up a the top two.  White Mambas are at least .500 and with a hands off owner, might get lucky and keep pace with the leaders.  Tarasenko had been one bright spot on this team with his 20 goals 23 assists....The only two teams that have won a Cherry Cup, Who Gives a Puck and Cherry's Checkers,  bring up the rear with a combined win total of only 7.  Sid "The Kid" Crosby for the Puck leads the team with 26 goals.  Checker's reliance on Kings players have been their downfall this year as was the only year they didn't win the Cup.

Tarasenko doing his part for the Mambas

Goal leader - Sidney Crosby, 26 goals, Puck
Assist leader - Connor McDavid, 34 assists, Mayhem
Rating leader - Justin Schultz, AshBusters and Ryan Suter, Assassins, +24
PPG leader - Cam Atkins, Checkers and Sidney Crosby, Puck, 9 PPG
Hits leader - Alexei Emelin, AshBusters, 134
FOW leader - Ryan Kesler, Assassins, 528 FOW

Sid leading league in goals

Goalie Wins - Sergei Bobrovsky, Assassins, 26 Wins
GAA leader - Devan Dubnyk, Goon Crew, 1.80 GAA
SV% leader - Devan Dubnyk, Goon Crew, .939 SV%

Dubnyk having an amazing year

She leading votes in best CFHL fan...

Fantasy Bowl XXXII

FANTASY BOWL XXXII

Michigan Mayhem 46  Mark's Mafia 42

In a somewhat wild game, with a controversial ending, but not really, The Michigan Mayhem win their 2nd Fantasy Bowl championship since being in the league in 2002.  A game that might spell the folding of another franchise, the Mafia.

The game started as the two teams took the field in sunny Florida at Mafia Stadium.  The Mayhem would strike fast and quick as McKinnon, which was a late line up change, scored twice to give them a 12-6 lead.  Some could say that saved him the game, and was the owner move of the year as he replaced Chris Thompson, who last week scored twice!

McKinnon scores twice!

The Mafia would roar back as his Falcons took the field.  He would strike with a sideways 10 point connection as Matt Ryan hit Coleman for a TD, taking the lead 17-12.  But then tragedy hit the Mafia as David Johnson went down with a sprained MCL and would have no TDs.  He had 20 on the year and was a key to a Mafia victory.

Johnson carted off the field for Mafia

But Mafia QB Matty "Ice" Ryan would not let this injury be a factor as he would fire off 3 more TD passes to make the score 33-19 late in the game.  It was looking bleak for the Mayhem.  Another Matt Bryant FG and it was 36-19.

Matt Ryan would toss 4 TD passes in the loss.

Then it hit, the controversial 12 point play.  Tyreek Hill would return a punt 95 yards for the Chiefs/Mayhem special teams.  He was a starting WR for the Mayhem as well, making the score 36-31 and quickly the Mayhem were right back in the game. Brees would need to throw just one TD pass combined with a "Lug" Lutz XP and this game would be tied.  But the Saints after a TD pass from Brees went for 2!! No XP for Lutz and the game was 36-35 in favor of the Mafia.  Did the Mafia call in a marker?  Did Sean Payton have a gambling debt with the Mob?

Tyreek Hill's 95 yard 12 point play earned him FB MVP

But then, when all seemed lost for the Mayhem, Larry Fitzgerald, who hadn't scored since week 5, scored a TD to give the Mayhem a 41-36 lead! (Leave it to the Rams to allow a WR to score who hadn't scored since Week 5).  Drew Brees would add yet another TD and with the XP the game was 46-36.  Just like that in a matter of minutes the Mayhem went from losers to winners.  But it wasn't quite over yet...

Drew Brees last TD was actually the game winner

The Mafia had one last chance.  Golden "Taint" Tate.  They would need 2 TDs from him to come from behind and win.  He would get one early to make the score 46-42.  Time was running out.  One last chance for the Mafia (who at this time thought they had the game won...eh boy).  Time for a Hail Mary, Pray for Rain.....Tate had his hands on the ball for second, but couldn't come down with it.  The Mayhem win, the Mayhem win!!!

Tate almost came down with the game winner!

While both teams stored the field thinking the won, the Commissioner of the CFFL had to take the field and explain the rules that the Mayhem scored on a 12 point play when Tyreek Hill returned the punt.  Chaos ensued.  Players, coaches and owners were on the field fighting, like a scene from Game of Thrones.  When the dust settled the Mayhem and owner Tom Grandmason were the Kings of the North!  Eh I mean Fantasy Bowl XXXII champions!

The scene after the game...

Rumor has it the Mafia owner stomped off the field to maybe never return again, after being in the league since 1996.  Only the Chislers, Crew, Ferrets, Bums and Crush have been in longer.  

Drew Brees was Fantasy Bowl Champ

Just a side note, its is funny to me that some teams that have been in the league for so long, continue to not know all the nuances of the rules of the CFFL.  Funnier yet, in a league where there is no big money pot, like some league where it is hundreds and hundreds of dollars, owners have gotten so mad they have left the league...

Well anyway, this was a big episode of "Where Colin was wrong!"  Taking the Mafia -4 at the time seemed like a no brainer, but once Johnson went down they were in trouble.  Still it was a great game!

Mayhem now have 2 trophies

Thanks for reading all of my ridiculous posts each week on the league and I hope you at least enjoyed the pictures.  The funny ones and the cheerleader ones.... See everyone again in August!  The Crew will rise again!!! (I hope).

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