The Midseason Report
Gentlemen – We are nine weeks into the 2016 season, and the major of the league is doing well and in positive dollars. The playoff races will be tight this season if this trend continues, specifically for the final few berths to get into the postseason dance.
Here’s a breakdown of how the league did as a whole each week:
Week 1: -$1,400
Week 2: -$1,900
Week 3: -$4,500
Week 4: -$800
Week 5: +$3,600
Week 6: +$100
Week 7: +$4,700
Week 8: +$6,200
Week 9: -$4,100
That’s a cumulative total of $1,900. After a tough start to the season, there was an amazing turnaround in Weeks 5-8.
Disclaimer: The following is a completely biased report of the first nine weeks of the FMFL. The views, opinions, and observations that follow are those of the Executive Director and are completely subjective.
East Division
Abe Froman
Current Total: -$400
Winning Percentage: 0.435
Fines: $0
Wild Card Bet: Week 5 – New England – Won
Recap: Abe is putting up a fight this season, despite a sub-par winning percentage, he won his wild card bet, but will he have enough of a surge to make it interesting down the stretch?
Grade: C-
Art Schlichter
Current Total: $900
Winning Percentage: 0.611
Fines: $0
Wild Card Bet: Still Available
Recap: Art has been solid all year and some have his as the odds-on favorite in the East, given his experience and that he has his wild card bet available.
Grade: A-
Bud Fox
Current Total: -$900
Winning Percentage: 0.389
Fines: $0
Wild Card Bet: Still Available
Recap: A surprisingly bad start to the year for Bud put him behind the eight-ball. The next three weeks are crucial to his 2016 campaign.
Grade: D+
Face
Current Total: -$1,100
Winning Percentage: 0.389
Fines: $200
Wild Card Bet: Still Available
Recap: Weak winning percentage aside, Face’s fines have compounded his poor performance that has him at the bottom of the East Division. Maybe his lucky $2 bill will help turn things around for him.
Grade: D
OJ
Current Total: -$900
Winning Percentage: 0.481
Fines: $0
Wild Card Bet: Still Available
Recap: OJ has shown some signs of life, but has faltered recently, putting the division title $2,000 away and simply a pipe dream at this point.
Grade: D+
Rick Moranis
Current Total: $100
Winning Percentage: 0.500
Fines: $0
Wild Card Bet: Still Available
Recap: Rick has been even-steven through nine weeks and is in position to challenge for the division crown and a playoff spot in a crowded field on the positive side of $0.
Grade: B-
Shecky
Current Total: -$900
Winning Percentage: 0.458
Fines: $0
Wild Card Bet: Still Available
Recap: Shecky is primed for a wild card bet to see if 2016 will be a lost season for him.
Grade: Grade
The Big Hurt
Current Total: $1,100
Winning Percentage: 0.500
Fines: $0
Wild Card Bet: Week 7 – New England – Won
Recap: Much like the leaves changing colors and Daylight Savings Time, one other less known November constant is The Big Hurt blowing a huge lead. You know it’s coming.
Grade: A
North Division
Blossom Russo
Current Total: -$500
Winning Percentage: 0.421
Fines: $100
Wild Card Bet: Week 5 – Pittsburgh – Won
Recap: On the bright side, Blossom has struggled and still has a chance to sneak into the postseason. But not having his wild card bet in the second half will hurt his chances – he’ll have to hope that others lose their big bet.
Grade: C-
Don Mattingly
Current Total: -$1,900
Winning Percentage: 0.296
Fines: $0
Wild Card Bet: Still Available
Recap: The Donald is currently on pace for the lowest winning percentage in the ten year history of the league. I’m not mad. I’m disappointed.
Grade: F
Gordon Bombay
Current Total: $1,700
Winning Percentage: 0.667
Fines: $0
Wild Card Bet: Still Available
Recap: Gordon closed the first half of the year strong and has a strangehold on the overall lead, plus a decent cushion in the North Division after trailing for the first month.
Grade: A+
Karl Farbman
Current Total: -$500
Winning Percentage: 0.444
Fines: $0
Wild Card Bet: Still Available
Recap: An up and down year so far with big swings for Karl leaves him way back in the division race and a few bad bets away from being completely out of the playoff picture.
Grade: C-
Kiko Garcia
Current Total: $700
Winning Percentage: 0.591
Fines: $0
Wild Card Bet: Still Available
Recap: Kiko’s strong winning percentage bodes well for the rest of the season, with his pending wild card integral to closing the gap in the North.
Grade: A-
Larisa Oleynik
Current Total: $0
Winning Percentage: 0.389
Fines: $0
Wild Card Bet: Week 5 – New England – Won
Recap: With nine weeks in the rearview mirror, somehow Larisa is at even money with a paltry winning percentage. Still, she has a shot with less than half of the season to go.
Grade: C+
T-Ferg
Current Total: $1,100
Winning Percentage: 0.569
Fines: $0
Wild Card Bet: Still Available
Recap: T-Ferg led the North early on, and is still within striking distance of Gordon Bombay. He should be a franchise to beat in the second half.
Grade: A-
The Beard of Zeus
Current Total: $100
Winning Percentage: 0.611
Fines: $700
Wild Card Bet: Still Available
Recap: If only he could get his bets on time, I could give The Beard of Zeus money at the end of the season….
Grade: C-
South Division
Boss Hardigan
Current Total: -$1,100
Winning Percentage: 0.389
Fines: $0
Wild Card Bet: Still Available
Recap: A shockingly poor start to the season for Boss Hardigan put him near the bottom of the South standings.
Grade: D
Dr. Oge
Current Total: $800
Winning Percentage: 0.550
Fines: $0
Wild Card Bet: Still Available
Recap: Oge keeps leaning into his tried and true method of betting a lot of games and managing his bankroll. He’s right on the playoff bubble as of now and within earshot of the division lead.
Grade: B+
Judge Smails
Current Total: -$2,500
Winning Percentage: 0.364
Fines: $600
Wild Card Bet: Week 3 – Miami – Lost
Recap: Listen, Judge. It’s your first season and it didn’t get off to a hot start. Then you missed wagering one week. Let’s chalk 2016 up as an investment for the future.
Grade: F
Kimmy Gibbler
Current Total: -$200
Winning Percentage: 0.435
Fines: $0
Wild Card Bet: Week 8 – Dallas – Won
Recap: Kimmy is hanging on by a string and fought back with a huge Week 8 to show she still can make noise in the second half of 2016.
Grade: C
Patrick Bateman
Current Total: $1,100
Winning Percentage: 0.571
Fines: $0
Wild Card Bet: Still Available
Recap: Bateman’s FMFL career has started off in a great way, mixing some weeks with conservative wagering with taking a few chances. Will his inexperience hold him back when things tighten up in December?
Grade: A-
Thine
Current Total: $1,300
Winning Percentage: 0.485
Fines: $100
Wild Card Bet: Week 7 – Cincinnati – Won
Recap: Thine was picked early in the FMFL draft and has had an axe to grind ever since. He’s leading the uber-tight race in the South, but has already blown his proverbial wad with his wild card bet.
Grade: A
Waldo Geraldo Faldo
Current Total: $400
Winning Percentage: 0.580
Fines: $0
Wild Card Bet: Still Available
Recap: Don’t count out Waldo, the seasoned veteran, from making a run at the division title. He’s a franchise to watch over the next few weeks as these franchises jockey for postseason position.
Grade: B
Yaz
Current Total: $1,200
Winning Percentage: 0.658
Fines: $0
Wild Card Bet: Still Available
Recap: Yaz’s winning percentage is currently matching his age, which is a good thing considering how long he’s been around. He led the South for a brief moment, but it is sure to be a seesaw battle the rest of the way.
Grade: A-
West Division
Babe
Current Total: $600
Winning Percentage: 0.563
Fines: $0
Wild Card Bet: Still Available
Recap: Babe is the king of the five-teamer, but he continues to win more than he loses and put himself in good company on the playoff bubble.
Grade: B
Bayonnaise
Current Total: $300
Winning Percentage: 0.560
Fines: $0
Wild Card Bet: Still Available
Recap: Bayonnaise’s career turned around once he found himself….and when he stopped forgetting to bet.
Grade: B-
Chalky Studebaker
Current Total: $1,200
Winning Percentage: 0.597
Fines: $0
Wild Card Bet: Still Available
Recap: Chalky did just about everything right in the first half of the year and has yet to show any weakness in his year and a half in the FMFL.
Grade: A
Chris B. Corey
Current Total: $300
Winning Percentage: 0.571
Fines: $0
Wild Card Bet: Still Available
Recap: Chris was a victim of bad money management for the first half of the year, and if he can hit on his wild card, he could be ordering bottle service in January.
Grade: B
Kenny Powers
Current Total: $700
Winning Percentage: 0.560
Fines: $0
Wild Card Bet: Still Available
Recap: Kenny is back to his winning ways. With a wild card bet available and just $500 between him and the West leader, he should be a force to be reckoned with in the second half.
Grade: A-
Mr. Marbles
Current Total: -$100
Winning Percentage: 0.444
Fines: $0
Wild Card Bet: Still Available
Recap: A roller coaster first half for Mr. Marbles must be forcing him to rethink his betting strategy to minimize the big swings in performance.
Grade: B-
The Notorious ABT
Current Total: -$700
Winning Percentage: 0.463
Fines: $0
Wild Card Bet: Week 9 – Pittsburgh – Lost
Recap: What seemed to be a franchise that had shaken off its brutal past is right back where it started, currently in the cellar of the West.
Grade: D+
The People’s Champ
Current Total: $400
Winning Percentage: 0.580
Fines: $100
Wild Card Bet: Still Available
Recap: A solid winning percentage for The Champ through the first half of the year, but as history has shown us, he will only make the playoffs if the Giants cover all of their games down the stretch.
Grade: B+
