Wild Card Weekend Picks
Wild Card Weekend Lines
Note: Bets must be placed by Friday night at midnight in order to be considered on time.
Wild Card Weekend Standings
The Postseason Report
Gentlemen – It was a tale of two halves in the 2022 season. As you can see below, once we hit the second half of the year (Week 10), everyone suffered. There was only one winning week for the league the entire second half. A few bloodbath weeks, especially Weeks 16 & 17, made 2022 all about survival. Those who stayed consistent and steady made the playoffs, with the last spot at $900, which is about average. There are some familiar faces in the postseason but also some embattled franchises who are looking to take the next step.
Here’s a breakdown of how the league did as a whole each week:
Week 1: +$3,700
Week 2: -$3,800
Week 3: +$6,800
Week 4: +$3,700
Week 5: -$4,000
Week 6: +$3,000
Week 7: -$600
Week 8: +$2,900
Week 9: +$1,700
Week 10: -$300
Week 11: -$3,100
Week 12: -$1,100
Week 13: -$1,300
Week 14: -$2,000
Week 15: +$500
Week 16: -$3,900
Week 17: -$5,200
Week 18: -$1,000
That’s a cumulative total of -$4,000.
Disclaimer: The following is a completely biased report of the 2022 FMFL regular season. The views, opinions, and observations that follow are those of the Executive Director and are completely subjective.
East Division
Blossom Russo
Final Total: -$2,500
Winning Percentage: 0.440
Fines: $200
Wild Card Bet: Week 12 – Indianapolis – Lost
Recap: Blossom lost her way around midseason and 2022 turned from a season of promise to one that vanished quickly after her wild card loss.
Grade: D
Boss Hardigan
Final Total: $1,500
Winning Percentage: 0.615
Fines: $0
Wild Card Bet: Week 17 – San Francisco – Lost
Recap: Hardigan was setting up for another run at a division title and at the overall regular season championship, but his Niners wild card loss in Week 17 dashed any hope of that. Nevertheless, he’s back in the postseason where success has eluded him.
Grade: B+
Chalky Studebaker
Final Total: -$1,300
Winning Percentage: 0.468
Fines: $200
Wild Card Bet: Week 13 – Seattle – Lost
Recap: Chalky dropped his wild card bet in Week 13 and never fully recovered. He wasn’t too far off from a successful season but couldn’t gather any momentum in the second half of the year.
Grade: C-
Kenny Powers
Final Total: $2,700
Winning Percentage: 0.553
Fines: $0
Wild Card Bet: Week 6 – Cincinnati – Won
Recap: Strong betting and money management kept Kenny out in front for just about the entire season in the East and he kept a steady pace down the stretch to not only win the division, but also the overall regular season crown. Now, he turns his attention to the playoffs.
Grade: A+
Kiko Garcia
Final Total: -$2,800
Winning Percentage: 0.400
Fines: $300
Wild Card Bet: Week 14 – Seattle – Lost
Recap: Kiko went downhill in November and December, not only being unable to scratch out wins, but gathering some fines as well. He’ll look to get back on track in 2023.
Grade: D-
Luther Lavay
Final Total: $600
Winning Percentage: 0.512
Fines: $0
Wild Card Bet: Week 4 – Dallas – Won
Recap: Luther put himself in the exact same position as last season with one week to go: sitting in a prime spot to make the playoffs. The same thing happened: he lost $500 in Week 18. Last year he was the last team in. This year, he was the first team out.
Grade: B
Mr. Marbles
Final Total: -$2,800
Winning Percentage: 0.382
Fines: $0
Wild Card Bet: Week 16 – Cleveland – Lost
Recap: For one of the original FMFL franchises, the 2022 season is one he’ll want to forget, punctuated by a late season wild card loss.
Grade: D-
Thine
Final Total: -$1,000
Winning Percentage: 0.534
Fines: $800
Wild Card Bet: Week 15 – Buffalo – Lost
Recap: A steady hand has been Thine’s calling card during his FMFL career, and that’s what made his final four weeks so surprising. He lost $1,100 in Week 15 and phoned in the rest of the season. Shrug.
Grade: C
North Division
Babe
Final Total: $1,600
Winning Percentage: 0.583
Fines: $400
Wild Card Bet: Week 4 – Minnesota – Won
Recap: Babe grinded out a strong winning percentage throughout the season and despite some fine dollars, he got it done in the final weeks of the season to capture the North title.
Grade: A-
Bud Fox
Final Total: $1,300
Winning Percentage: 0.565
Fines: $0
Wild Card Bet: Week 17 – San Francisco – Lost
Recap: Bud joined the crowd that had their season derailed by the 49ers loss in Week 17. He looked to be running away with the division, but pulled back to the rest of the pack before a strong Week 18 to get into the playoffs.
Grade: B+
Donnie Jeffcoat
Final Total: -$1,500
Winning Percentage: 0.447
Fines: $0
Wild Card Bet: Week 16 – Miami – Lost
Recap: Count Donnie as another franchise that started off the year strong and hit a rough patch in the second half. His final total masks the strong Weeks 1-15 he had before faltering.
Grade: C-
Karl Hungus
Final Total: -$2,000
Winning Percentage: 0.457
Fines: $100
Wild Card Bet: Week 12 – Buffalo – Lost
Recap: He bet Buffalo 13 times (out of a potential 15 games because of some Thursday matchups). Loyal to a fault and trying to employ the Gordon Bombay Patriots strategy of yesteryear, he hasn’t found the success Gordon did back in the day.
Grade: D+
Larisa Oleynik
Final Total: $1,200
Winning Percentage: 0.541
Fines: $100
Wild Card Bet: Week 18 – Miami – Won
Recap: Larisa had an outside shot at winning the division in the final weeks and is headed to the playoffs. She hopes that her consistent play turns into a winning streak over the next month.
Grade: B+
T-Ferg
Final Total: -$200
Winning Percentage: 0.541
Fines: $0
Wild Card Bet: Week 17 – LA Rams – Lost
Recap: T-Ferg looked ready for another postseason appearance but plummeted in December and ended up in negative money. He’ll wipe the slate clean and look forward to 2023.
Grade: C+
The Beard of Zeus
Final Total: -$1,600
Winning Percentage: 0.474
Fines: $300
Wild Card Bet: Week 17 – Minnesota – Lost
Recap: Beard played it well in the first half of the year but then never got going as the season wore on. The Week 17 wild card loss was the final nail in his bearded coffin.
Grade: C-
Waldo Geraldo Faldo
Final Total: $0
Winning Percentage: 0.512
Fines: $800
Wild Card Bet: Week 13 – Minnesota – Won
Recap: WGF looked to be turning towards the playoffs after his wild card win, but in the end there were too many fines (including a missed bets week) that leave him asking what could have been with the 2022 campaign.
Grade: C+
South Division
Bayonnaise
Final Total: $1,300
Winning Percentage: 0.561
Fines: $0
Wild Card Bet: Week 14 – San Francisco – Won
Recap: Naise has his strongest season in recent memory and was a threat to win the division down the stretch. He’ll take years of ups and downs and good experience with him to the playoffs.
Grade: B+
Biff Tannen
Final Total: -$200
Winning Percentage: 0.500
Fines: $600
Wild Card Bet: Week 14 – Cincinnati – Won
Recap: After just missing out on the playoffs by $100 in 2021, Biff was almost right down the middle in terms of performance in 2022, with a 0.500 winning percentage. No bets one week snuffed out any momentum he had this year.
Grade: C+
Chris B. Corey
Final Total: -$2,200
Winning Percentage: 0.419
Fines: $0
Wild Card Bet: Week 13 – Baltimore – Lost
Recap: Chris sat in the cellar for just about all of the 2022 campaign, and with his feast or famine betting style could just be setting up for a comeback season this fall.
Grade: D+
Karl Farbman
Final Total: $300
Winning Percentage: 0.500
Fines: $0
Wild Card Bet: Week 11 – Dallas – Won
Recap: Early in the second half of the year, Farbman surged into relevance but couldn’t put two weeks together in December. He had an outside shot at the playoffs, but was always a couple of wins from truly being in the mix this year.
Grade: B-
Rick Moranis
Final Total: $2,000
Winning Percentage: 0.603
Fines: $0
Wild Card Bet: Did Not Use
Recap: Hitting over 60% is a feather in Rick’s cap and he smartly sat on his wild card and watched the rest of the South fade away in Week 17, gifting him the division title.
Grade: A
Shecky
Final Total: -$900
Winning Percentage: 0.500
Fines: $200
Wild Card Bet: Week 16 – Cleveland – Lost
Recap: Shecky bet the Browns 9 times this year. When will he learn?
Grade: C
The Big Hurt
Final Total: $1,500
Winning Percentage: 0.597
Fines: $0
Wild Card Bet: Week 17 – San Francisco – Lost
Recap: The Big Hurt had a strong season, and despite letting his chances at the division disappear with his Week 17 Niners wild card bet (a familiar refrain in FMFL in 2022), he’s in the playoffs.
Grade: A-
The People’s Champ
Final Total: $900
Winning Percentage: 0.549
Fines: $100
Wild Card Bet: Week 17 – San Francisco – Lost
Recap: It doesn’t matter how he got there, that he stumbled in the last two weeks of the season, or that The People’s Champ got the very last postseason berth. What matters is that he’s going for an unprecedented third title. And the Giants are in the playoffs, too….odd coincidence.
Grade: B+
West Division
Don Mattingly
Final Total: -$1,200
Winning Percentage: 0.480
Fines: $0
Wild Card Bet: Week 16 – Cleveland – Lost
Recap: Donnie sank like a stone the second half of the year and is once again on the outside looking in for the FMFL playoffs.
Grade: C
Judge Smails
Final Total: $1,300
Winning Percentage: 0.537
Fines: $0
Wild Card Bet: Week 16 – Green Bay – Won
Recap: Only one franchise is moving on out of the West, and it’s Smails, who was solid in the final weeks of the season in a tight division race. He got a couple of breaks in Week 18, but he’s in the money and looking for more.
Grade: B+
Neon Boudeaux
Final Total: -$600
Winning Percentage: 0.481
Fines: $700
Wild Card Bet: Week 5 – Buffalo – Won
Recap: Neon showed signs of life as the season went on, but they all seemed to be too little, too late, and then no bets in Week 18 put him on the wrong side of $0.
Grade: C+
OJ
Final Total: -$300
Winning Percentage: 0.523
Fines: $0
Wild Card Bet: Week 18 – Philadelphia – Lost
Recap: It all came down to one bet for OJ. A Week 18 wild card win would mean the West Division title. Instead David Webb cooked up a Giants cover and he was sent packing for the offseason.
Grade: C+
Patrick Bateman
Final Total: $500
Winning Percentage: 0.557
Fines: $0
Wild Card Bet: Week 17 – San Francisco – Lost
Recap: Bateman surged for about a month in the second half of the year, grabbing the West lead and making it look like he was going to run away with the division. The old Week 17 Niners wild card dropped him out of contention.
Grade: B-
The Notorious ABT
Final Total: $400
Winning Percentage: 0.510
Fines: $0
Wild Card Bet: Week 17 – Seattle – Won
Recap: A Week 18 cover by Seattle would have put ABT in the playoffs (knocking out bitter rival The People’s Champ). But Seattle couldn’t cover and ABT has no one to blame but himself and his 0.510 winning percentage.
Grade: B-
Tony Montana
Final Total: -$300
Winning Percentage: 0.458
Fines: $100
Wild Card Bet: Week 16 – LA Chargers – Won
Recap: Tony impressed in his rookie season….for a while. He didn’t have the endurance to hang with the rest of the West for all 18 weeks and finished the year on a down note. He can chalk up 2022 as a learning experience for a first-timer.
Grade: C+
Yaz
Final Total: -$1,000
Winning Percentage: 0.441
Fines: $600
Wild Card Bet: Week 13 – Cleveland – Won
Recap: Yaz came back to life in the second half of the year and for a fortnight was in the mix in the anything-goes nature of the West Division. Given his poor win rate, this clearly wasn’t his year.
Grade: C-
Final Regular Season Winning Percentages
Final Regular Season Total Wagers
Final Regular Season Wild Card Bets
Final Regular Season Fines
2022 Playoff Field
The 2022 Playoff Field is set:
Babe
Bayonnaise
Boss Hardigan
Bud Fox
Judge Smails
Kenny Powers
Larisa Oleynik
Rick Moranis
The Big Hurt
The People’s Champ
Final Regular Season Standings
