“Drummer Boy Finds His Rhythm!” (Wk 16)

Week 15 MVP Award Winner –
Drummer Boy (24 Points)

Club legend Drummer Boy stole the show last week and got back into his groove by scoring 24 Points and winning the Week 15 MVP Award.  After struggling a little bit during this return season of the club, Drummer Boy has only managed to reach a peak position of #9.  However, last week he stepped up big time during a very challenging week and delivered some masterful picks.  Drummer Boy’s biggest pick of all was Pit over NE.  He was actually the only player in the entire club to correctly pick that minor upset and claim the Triple Crown of Cin-Min-Pit, thus walking away with the 7 Point prize.  Congrats to Drummer Boy on his excellent week.  Speaking of brilliant picks, freespirit was the only club member to bail on The Autopicker last week and switch over to the LA Chargers, thus correctly picking up 2 Points during their upset of KC.  Well done, freespirit.  Another player who picked solidly once again was Captain Jack Sparrow, who had 23 Points to win the Week 15 MVP Award Runner-Up.  Captain Jack was 1 of only 3 players to get both Games of the Week right with Ten and Indy (with the other 2 players being Captain Insano and Rex Kwan Do).  When Captain Jack turned in his picks last week, he stated: “I hope we can gain some ground on the leaders“.  And that’s exactly what Captain Jack did, as his solid week propelled him right back into the Top Five.  In fact, in looking over the Top Five, and for that matter the Top Six, something truly surprising can be seen.  We have our current top player Stinkerbell still sitting at #1, but we have five other players all 11 Points or less behind her with two weeks to go.  The club has never seen such a close race for the Club Championship before.  Any 1 of those 6 players could end up winning it all (and perhaps even The Rickster, if a miracle happens, who is 20 Points back in 7th Place).  #1 player Stinkerbell logged her 13th Week at #1 despite having a low-scoring week of only 13 Points.  It would be somewhat of a travesty if she ended up losing the title in the final week or two.  But if she wants to avoid that fate, she needs to step up this week and deliver tremendous picks as she has done in the past.  Another 13 Point week won’t cut it if she plans to stay in 1st Place.  #2 player Double-Double also had a 13 Point week and remains a mere 5 Points behind her.  The Cat scored 20 Points on the week, which moved him back into 3rd Place being 7 Points behind Stinkerbell and 2 Points behind Double-Double.  The new #4 player is our current MVP Captain Jack Sparrow.  And falling down to 5th Place (yet getting 1 Point closer to #1 at the same time) was yours truly Fearless Tuna, who had a miserable 14 Point week with multiple bad picks.  Rad Dad slipped down to 6th Place as he only scored 13 Points.  With all of these players in the mix for the club title, who will have a breakout week in Week 16 and move up in the standings?  Keep in mind that 2 weeks from now is our grand finale during Week 17.  And during that special week, there is always one additional Game of the Week (so three in total) and Quadruple Jeopardy (with 4 or -3 Points) returns to make its only appearance of the season.  But first, let’s see what happens in Week 16 and whether or not Stinkerbell can hold onto the top spot yet again.

In the Conference Round of the Super Bowl Tournament last week, we had shocking results with two tie matches.  The results were (3) Bob Swerski ties (5) Rad Dad 13-13 and (1) The Rickster ties (3) Nighthawk 17-17.  Below, I will copy and paste my commentary written over at the Super Bowl Tournament Page which previews the Super Bowl final between Bob Swerski and The Rickster (who both advanced as the higher seeds from each match).

This season’s Super Bowl Championship match between Bob Swerski and The Rickster is a showdown between past Super Bowl Head to Head champions. Bob Swerski won the tournament back in 2009, while 3-time champ The Rickster won the tournament in 2010, 2006, and 2005. Both players would love nothing more than to add one more trophy to their mantel. Bob Swerski’s run through the tournament was a series of three very close matches. In fact, he got past his opponents Fearless Tuna, Captain Jack Sparrow, and Rad Dad by a combined 7 Points. In the Conference Final, Bob Swerksi tied Rad Dad 13-13 and advanced due to having a better record and higher seeding. The Rickster likewise progressed through the tournament in close fashion, winning his three matches against Slick Chick, Drummer Boy, and Nighthawk by a combined 9 Points. In the Conference Final, The Rickster tied Nighthawk 17-17 and advanced as the highest seed in Conference Two. This was the first time in club history that both Conference Finals ended in tie games. So who has the edge in this outstanding Super Bowl match between past champions? These two players actually did not play during the Head to Head regular season. However, The Rickster had two more wins and had the best record in the league (along with Captain Insano). In taking a look through the club archives, I noticed that these two players have never met in past seasons despite both having extensive club history. So that means there are no previous matches which might provide a glimpse of how this one will turn out. Even so, an objective look at the match reveals that The Rickster has the edge and will be a slight favorite in this Super Bowl for three reasons. First, The Rickster had a stronger record this season as referenced earlier. Second, he has three past championships in comparison to Bob Swerski’s one championship. And third, The Rickster is the higher seed and will win the championship with a tie game. Perhaps being the underdog will motivate Bob Swerski to turn in outstanding picks this week and defy the experts. This match could possibly be decided by the Over/Under or which player is bold enough to pick Triple Jeopardy (or which player is wise enough not to). Will The Rickster win an unprecedented 4th Super Bowl trophy and get to enjoy a victory pint at the end of this week’s match? Or will Bob Swerski be performing the Super Bowl Shuffle once again as he celebrates a victory and becomes the champ? We will all find out at the end of the Week 16 games.

In the Final Four of the Pro Bowl Tournament last week, we had two very close matches with (1) Wild Animals def. (4) McTriple Play 50-43 and (3) Transformers def. (2) Daddy & His Boys 45-43.  Transformers ended up winning their match due to one simple brilliant pick by Kip Possible.  He was the only person in the entire club who correctly picked Phil over LA Rams on Sunday night.  Those 3 Points were the difference and gave Transformers the victory.  (And in case you were wondering, Kip made his brilliant pick at the same time he made all of his other picks.  He did not switch over last second.)  Below, I will copy and paste my commentary written over at the Pro Bowl Tournament Page which previews the Pro Bowl final between Wild Animals and Transformers.

We couldn’t have scripted a better ending to the return of The Football Club with a Pro Bowl team competition championship match between the two biggest rivals in club history. This will be the staggering seventh time that these two teams are meeting each other at some point during the tournament. Here is a brief recap of the six previous times that these two great teams have met and the results of the tournament matches.

Transformers def. Wild Animals 78-74 (2006 Final Four)
Transformers def. Wild Animals 78-74 (2008 Final Four exact same score)
Wild Animals def. Transformers 71-66 (2009 First Round)
Transformers def. Wild Animals 76-63 (2010 Final Four)
Wild Animals def. Transformers 43-35 (2011 Final Four)
Transformers def. Wild Animals 67-59 (2012 Pro Bowl Championship)

The above recap reveals some interesting details about the historic battles which have taken place between these two teams. First of all, they have met four times in Final Four matches, one time in the First Round, and one time in a Pro Bowl Championship match. Second, in tournament elimination matches, Transformers now hold a 4-2 edge over their main rivals Wild Animals. That’s four times that Transformers have knocked Wild Animals out of the tournament and perhaps cost them a Pro Bowl team trophy. Third, and perhaps most interesting, is that this championship match is actually a rematch of the very last championship match which was held back in 2012. These two teams squared off that season with Transformers emerging victorious and winning their first team title together as a squad. Wild Animals previously won team titles in 2011 and 2005. In breaking down this historic rematch, let’s take a closer look at both teams. Wild Animals consist of Double-Double, The Rickster, and team captain The Cat. Transformers consist of freespirit, Kip Possible, and team captain Slick Chick. In looking at this season’s results for both teams, they had very similar records during the 2018 regular season with Wild Animals going 8-4 and Transformers going 7-5. However, those records are misleading as they conceal a shocking fact. 3 of the 5 losses that Transformers took during the regular season came at the hands (or claws) of Wild Animals. In Week 2, Wild Animals def. Transformers 35-19. In Week 7, Wild Animals def. Transformers 81-50. And in Week 12, Wild Animals def. Transformers 63-58. Thus, the combined margin of victory this season for Wild Animals over Transformers is 52 Points (or 179-127). That’s a fairly large number, but don’t count out Transformers. They have a pattern of delivering their best picks on the biggest stage. And while Wild Animals are the clear favorites in this championship match (as well as the #1 seed), Transformers are the defending champions. #3 seed Transformers advanced to the final by knocking off The Mega Powers 71-67 in the First Round and then beating Daddy & His Boys 45-43 in the Final Four. Those were two very close matches. #1 seed Wild Animals advanced to the final by earning a bye week for the First Round and then beating McTriple Play 50-43 in the Final Four. This will truly be another match for the ages. Wild Animals-Transformers VII for the championship trophy. Which team will hold the trophy high next week and celebrate?