The Football Club

Here are the club’s picks for Week 18. Stinkerbell wins the Week 18 MVP Award with 30 Points, while Drummer Boy & Fearless Tuna share the MVP Award Runner-Up with 30 Points.

Week 18 full picks now posted (Sun 8:00am).  All players are welcome to view my picks once they have turned their own in for the week.

Week 17 MVP Award Winner –
Fearless Tuna (39 Points)

Top Ten player Fearless Tuna continued his late-season surge by scoring 39 Points to win the Week 17 MVP Award.  Switching away from speaking in third person, I’m not sure how I played so poorly during the first 10 weeks of the season.  It seemed like I couldn’t pick any of the big games correct and thus I found myself near the bottom of the standings.  But then when my back was against the wall and I was about to finish Head to Head Weekly with an embarrassing winless record, I finally had a good week and won a game.  And I’ve been having good weeks ever since.  So it was nice to make this a successful season by claiming my second MVP Award and getting back into 7th Place.  Last week, I got to 39 Points by only missing two Point Spread games and the Over/Under.  Current 4th Place player Double-Double scored 38 Points to claim the Week 17 MVP Award Runner-Up.  Double-Double only missed two Point Spread games.  So he actually picked better than Fearless Tuna did, being that he got the Over/Under correct.  However, he did not select Triple Jeopardy with his pick of Las Vegas, and that’s why Fearless Tuna edged him out for the MVP.  Double-Double is essentially a lock to finish in the Top Five.  But can he possibly compete for the club title on the final week?  Right now he stands 14 Points behind the Current Leader.  That’s a tall task for him to make up all those Points, especially being that he needs to jump two other players as well.  But it’s not impossible.  He will need to pick up an extra order of Animal Fries at the drive-thru if he’s going to have a chance, though.  Heading into the final week, the current Top Five consists of #1 Stinkerbell (3 Weeks at #1), #2 Bob Swerski (8 Points back), #3 Drummer Boy (9 Points back), #4 Double-Double (14 Points back), and #5 My Wife Loves Jimmy G (26 Points back).  Just outside of the Top Five, MJD Hogg continues to make his presence felt, as he is only 9 Points away from finishing in the Top Five.  So who will have a huge score this week and claim the 2024 Club Championship and raise the Rhapsody Ralph trophy?  Will it be current top player and December Player of the Month Award winner Stinkerbell, who has gained some separation from the rest of those who are chasing her?  Will it be her husband Bob Swerski, who is within striking distance of winning it all?  Or will it be Drummer Boy, who is trying to win his 3rd club title in the last 4 seasons?  It certainly is interesting to see a husband and wife battling it out with each other down to the final week for the club title.  All the while, trying to somehow hold off the club’s greatest player of the 2020’s decade.  I really don’t know what’s going to happen.  The club title could very well come down to who does (or doesn’t) select Quadruple Jeopardy and thus who takes (or avoids) a risk that could have serious implications on the final result.  I still feel like the favorite to win going into this final week is Drummer Boy, because he knows how to finish off a season.  But this may very well be the time for Stinkerbell or Bob Swerski to make history and receive their first winner’s trophy in the mail.  And with three players all very close in the Points Standings, I wouldn’t be surprised if we had our first ever tie for the Club Championship.

In the Super Bowl Tournament, (9) Fearless Tuna def. (2) Shaylene 39-30 to become the 2024 Super Bowl Head to Head Champion.  The following information is copy and pasted over from the Super Bowl Tournament Page:  After playing in the Super Bowl Tournament for 22 seasons and being a 4-time finalist, Fearless Tuna has finally done it. He has finally won the Super Bowl Head to Head Championship and raised the trophy in celebration. And in so doing, he has also made history. Fearless Tuna becomes the first player to win the tournament with a losing record, the first player to survive the First Round and win it, and the lowest seeded player to ever win it. He also broke a 21 year old record with a new highest score ever in a Super Bowl Final match with 39 Points. The previous record was held by Papa J-Bird who scored 33 Points back in 2003. Fearless Tuna’s run through the tournament was truly memorable, knocking off higher seeded players five times in a row, all the while knowing that he faced elimination if any of his matches ended up in a tie. Just ask 8th seeded Rad Dad how tough that situation is to overcome. On the week when it mattered the most, with the championship on the line, Fearless Tuna stepped up and posted his biggest score of the season with 39 Points as he won the MVP Award. His opponent, Shaylene, had a tremendous run through the tournament as well and scored a very strong 30 Points. She is very much to be applauded for making it all the way to the final and giving it her best. But it was not quite enough to overcome the unstoppable momentum of Fearless Tuna, who ended on a 6-game winning streak after starting the season winless in his first 9 games. It was definitely a turnaround and tournament run for the ages.

In the Pro Bowl Tournament, (1) Wild Animals def. (2) Daddy & His Boys 103-81 to become the 2024 Pro Bowl Team Champions.  The following information is copy and pasted over from the Pro Bowl Tournament Page:  Wild Animals continue to pad their unmatched resume by defeating their main rivals Daddy & His Boys 103-81 to win their sixth championship. On the week when it mattered the most, all three teammates on Wild Animals stepped up and delivered some outstanding picks. Team captain The Rickster contributed 33 Points and My Wife Loves Jimmy G added 32 Points. So that was 65 team points right there. And then Double-Double went on a rampage, scoring 38 Points and winning the MVP Award Runner-Up. That brought the team total to 103 Points, which was actually the second highest team score of the entire season. To accomplish such a feat in the Pro Bowl Championship game made Wild Animals unstoppable. Wild Animals have now won back to back Pro Bowl Team Championships. They have also won the title in 3 out of the last 4 seasons. Now that they have a league leading and utterly dominant six titles, what more is there left for them to accomplish? Not much, but next season they will surely be the favorites to win a seventh title. As far as Daddy & His Boys, they can hold their heads high. They had an amazing season, as they usually do, and gave it everything they had in the title match. MJD Hogg stepped up big time and tried to lead his team to victory with 34 Points. Thus, he outplayed 2 of the 3 members of Wild Animals. However, it wasn’t enough because both Hoosier Daddy (22 Points) and Drummer Boy (25 Points) struggled on offense and were held in check by the defense of Wild Animals. But there is always next season. For now, though, Daddy & His Boys will have to be content with being the second best team in club history.

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.