The Football Club

Here are the club’s picks for Week 17. Fearless Tuna wins the Week 17 MVP Award with 39 Points, while Double-Double wins the MVP Award Runner-Up with 38 Points.

Week 16 MVP Award Winner –
My Wife Loves Jimmy G (27 Points)

Top Five player My Wife Loves Jimmy G continues to serve notice on the club that there is no stopping his domination.  Not only has he spent most of the season in the Top Five (all but three weeks) and reached a Peak Position of #2, but he has now won his second MVP.  My Wife Loves Jimmy G scored 27 Points last week to claim the Week 16 MVP Award, adding that to his Week 5 MVP, Week 7 MVP Runner-Up, and Week 10 MVP Runner-Up.  And it was only two seasons ago when he finished as the overall Runner-Up to 2022 Club Champion Rad Dad.  My Wife Loves Jimmy G’s huge week resulted from him being the only person in the entire club to correctly pick the shocking Triple Crown result of Carolina – Detroit – Washington.  That was a truly brilliant Triple Crown to pick right, something that no other club member was willing to attempt.  The Week 16 MVP Award Runner-Up was current #6 player MJD Hogg, who scored 23 Points.  MJD Hogg has been all business this season, making great picks week after week.  Along the way, he has secured 3 MVP Awards and 3 Weeks at #1, along with the September Player of the Month Award.  MJD Hogg has had a truly outstanding year in the club.  There was some minor shuffling in the Top Five this past week, but nothing is even close to being settled.  The most interesting development is that we now have a tie for 1st Place, with both Drummer Boy & Stinkerbell sharing the top spot with 383 Points each.  Bob Swerski struggled last week and only scored 12 Points, which dropped him down to 3rd Place, although he is only 2 Points behind the leaders.  However, he cannot afford another low-scoring week if he wants to stay in serious contention.  In 4th Place we have Double-Double (18 Points back) and in 5th Place we have My Wife Loves Jimmy G (24 Points back).  I’m not sure if either of those two players can get back into contention without taking some serious risks this week, while there is still some time left to do so.  But with both of them playing in the Pro Bowl Tournament, it might not be smart to do so.

The Super Bowl Championship match is set with (9) Fearless Tuna (5-8-1) at (2) Shaylene (9-4).  (The following information is copy and pasted over from the Super Bowl Tournament Page.)  The Super Bowl Championship match between Fearless Tuna and Shaylene has to be one of the most unlikely finals of all time.  Nobody expected either of these two players to advance all the way to the championship round, but here they are.  Fearless Tuna is now a 4-time Super Bowl finalist, having lost all three of his previous appearances to the eventual champions.  He lost in 2023 (which was just last season) to My Wife Loves Jimmy G by 5 Points.  Before that, he lost in 2010 to The Rickster by 8 Points.  And before that, he also lost in 2005 to The Rickster by 12 Points.  As you can see, Fearless Tuna has gotten a little closer to victory every single time he has reached the final.  And this time, he is facing off against a family member, his stepmom Shaylene.  As far as Shaylene goes, she made it to the Divisional Round last year before losing to Viking Blood.  And in 2022, she was knocked off in the First Round by her grandson Young Tuna.  So she has never made it past the Divisional Round when playing solo (in some past seasons she has joined forces with Roadrunner and they played together).  To analyze how this season’s championship match might turn out, let’s take a look back at the performances of the two players this season in Head to Head Weekly and then the Super Bowl Tournament.  Fearless Tuna was the worst player this season in Head to Head Weekly, posting a career low record of 1-8-1.  And he didn’t pick up that lone victory until the final week of the regular season.  But since then, he has been on an absolute tear, pulling off four consecutive stunning upsets in the tournament.  In succession, he knocked off #8 seed Captain Insano, #1 seed Hoosier Daddy, #5 seed Captain Jack Sparrow, and #6 seed Double-Double.  That has been quite a path to the final for Fearless Tuna, and now he is just one win away from finishing off a miracle run for the ages.  Shaylene, on the other hand, had a fantastic regular season, finishing as the Division Four champion with a record of 6-4.  In the tournament, she has also done well, defeating #7 seed New York City Sewer Rat, #8 seed Rad Dad, and #4 seed Nighthawk.  During the Super Bowl Tournament, Fearless Tuna has posted an average score of 25.6 Points per week.  In contrast, Shaylene has posted a lower average score of 19.8 Points per week.  Based on their average scores during the tournament, I would have to establish Fearless Tuna as a clear 5 Point favorite, despite being the lowest seed in the entire tournament.  He has just been playing too strong lately and it does not seem likely that he is going to let this golden opportunity to finally raise the Super Bowl Head to Head trophy slip away.  Regardless, it will be interesting to see how it all plays out on the field this Sunday and who becomes our 2024 Super Bowl Head to Head Champion.  No matter what, a member of the Tuna family is guaranteed to be the next champion.

The Pro Bowl Team Championship match is set with (2) Daddy & His Boys (9-4) at (1) Wild Animals (9-3-1).  (The following information is copy and pasted over from the Pro Bowl Tournament Page.)  The 2024 Pro Bowl Team Championship match is a rematch for the ages between this season’s best teams and top two seeds.  This is the third time in club history in which these two teams have met in the title match, with the previous two meetings happening in 2021 and 2007.  In 2021, (1) Wild Animals def. (2) Daddy & His Boys 61-54.  But in 2007, (2) Daddy & His Boys def. (1) Wild Animals 61-57.  Notice how close and similar both scores were.  And notice, too, that in all three finals that Wild Animals have been the #1 seed and Daddy & His Boys have been the #2 seed.  As stated on the Pro Bowl Team Champs Hall of Fame page, “Wild Animals have established themselves as the greatest Pro Bowl team of all time, having now won 5 titles (as of 2023).  Just barely behind them, Daddy & His Boys have won 3 titles.”  With this in mind, this is a golden opportunity for both teams.  If Wild Animals were to win this match, they would have 6 titles, which would double the amount of Daddy & His Boys and make it nearly impossible for them to ever be caught.  However, if Daddy & His Boys were to win this match, they would close the gap to 5-4 and only have one less title than Wild Animals.  That would put them in prime position to catch up to and potentially even pass Wild Animals in the next few years.  So a lot is at stake in this match.  To get an idea as to who might have the edge in this 2024 championship match, let’s take a look back at their meetings during the Pro Bowl Weekly regular season.  This season, they played each other three times, with Wild Animals winning 2 of the 3 matches.  In Week 6, Daddy & His Boys def. Wild Animals 93-91.  Then, in Week 11, Wild Animals def. Daddy & His Boys 61-55.  Finally, in Week 14, Wild Animals def. Daddy & His Boys 66-64.  Notice that all three matches were extremely close and went down to the wire.  Daddy & His Boys consists of (current ranking) #1 Drummer Boy, #6 MJD Hogg, and team captain #10 Hoosier Daddy.  Wild Animals consists of (current ranking) #4 Double-Double,#5 My Wife Loves Jimmy G, and team captain #7 The Rickster.  Notice that all six players are in the Top Ten, so we can expect an outstanding championship match.  This match will be so close that the best I can do is establish Wild Animals as a mere 1 Point favorite.  But actually, I wouldn’t be surprised if this match ends up finishing in a tie.  It will be very interesting to see which team ends up winning it all and raising the team championship banner.

Here are the club’s picks for Week 16. My Wife Loves Jimmy G wins the Week 16 MVP Award with 27 Points, while MJD Hogg wins the MVP Award Runner-Up with 23 Points.

Week 16 full picks now posted (Sat 8:00pm).  All players are welcome to view my picks once they have turned their own in for the week.

Week 15 MVP Award Winners –
Rad Dad, Roadrunner & Shaylene (30 Points)

For the first time since Week 1 of the season, more than two players have tied for the MVP Award.  This time, Rad Dad, Roadrunner & Shaylene all scored 30 Points to win a share of the Week 15 MVP Award.  For Rad Dad, it proved to be a bittersweet week.  The good news for Rad Dad is that with this huge 30 Point week, he has now moved into the Top Ten for the first time this season.  As recently as Week 5, he was in Last Place in the club.  So this is a huge improvement and if he could somehow hang on and stay inside the Top Ten, it would be a great ending to his season and give him momentum carrying into the Super Bowl Picks and 2025 Club.  But the bad news for Rad Dad is that his opponent in the Divisional Round of the Super Bowl Tournament happened to be Shaylene, who was the co-MVP along with him but also the higher seed.  Thus, she advances and he has to go home despite winning the MVP Award.  It’s a heartbreaking result to say the least.  Roadrunner has also had a difficult season despite peaking at #4 back in Week 3.  And Shaylene has not picked well either this season.  So both Roadrunner & Shaylene were happy to score such huge weeks shortly after celebrating their 42nd wedding anniversary.  They are probably sharing a bottle of leftover fine wine from their anniversary party to celebrate not only long-lasting love, but also being MVP winners this week.  In looking at the current Top Five, one thing is certain.  The three-way battle for 1st Place and the 2024 Club Championship continues to heat up and go down to the wire.  Bob Swerksi, Drummer Boy & Stinkerbell are not backing down from this challenge.  And Double-Double and My Wife Loves Jimmy G are doing everything in their power to make great picks and keep the pressure on the three above them.  The current Top Five are #1 Bob Swerksi (3 Weeks at #1), #2 Drummer Boy (2 Points back), #3 Stinkerbell (4 Points back), #5 Double-Double (21 Points back), and #5 My Wife Loves Jimmy G (37 Points back).  At the same time, there is also an even more fierce battle for the Top Ten, with five players all currently within 2 Points of each other.  With only three weeks left, we will see how all of this plays out and who can deliver big time starting this week.

The Divisional Round of the Super Bowl Tournament took place last week, with four outstanding matches.  All of the matches were extremely close.  In the first match, (9) Fearless Tuna def. (5) Captain Jack Sparrow 25-22.  Fearless Tuna has now reeled off four consecutive wins as he tries to make history by becoming the first player to ever win a Super Bowl title with a losing record.  In the second match, (6) Double-Double def. (7) Bob Swerski 27-25.  This was a battle between two of our Top Five players.  Although Double-Double may not be able to catch Bob Swerski in the Points Standings, he did manage to eliminate the three-time Super Bowl champ from this season’s tournament.  In the third match, (2) Shaylene ties (8) Rad Dad 30-30 but advances as the higher seed, as discussed earlier.  And in the fourth match, (4) Nighthawk def. (6) The Rickster 23-17 in the battle of two legends.  And that brings us to the Conference Round of the tournament which is taking place this week.  First, we have a battle between two close friends with (9) Fearless Tuna (4-8-1) at (6) Double-Double (7-5).  Second, we have a battle between two high-ranking seeded players with (4) Nighthawk (6-4-2) at (2) Shaylene (8-4).  We will find out soon who will advance to next week’s Super Bowl final.

The First Round of the Pro Bowl Tournament took place last week as well, with two stunning upsets.  The two teams who played poorly all season decided to step up on the biggest stage and shock the club.  In the first match, (6) The Hulkamaniacs def. (3) McTriple Play 79-71.  And in the second match, (5) Tuna Generations def. (4) The Gridiron Guardians 76-61.  That leads us into our Final Four matches which will take place this week.  First, we have (6) The Hulkamaniacs (4-9) at (1) Wild Animals (8-3-1).  Wild Animals have already beaten The Hulkamanics twice this season, so Wild Animals are heavy 12 Point favorites in this one.  Second, we have (5) Tuna Generations (4-9) at (2) Daddy & His Boys (8-4).  This match will be interesting due to the history between the two teams.  Last season, (4) Tuna Generations def. (5) Daddy & His Boys 78-71 in the First Round to eliminate them.  And in 2022, one year before that, (3) Tuna Generations def. (7) Daddy & His Boys 64-57 to win the Pro Bowl team championship.  Daddy & His Boys do not want to be eliminated by the same team three seasons in a row, so you know that all three members will be showing up big time looking for revenge.  We would have to establish Daddy & His Boys as 3 Point favorites in this one.