Week 5 Lines
Reminder: Bets must be in by Saturday night at midnight in order to be considered on time.
The Top Ten: Week 5
Commentary: As we pass the quarter pole for the 2010 season, one thing’s for sure – nothing is for sure. The FMFL loaded up on Indianapolis and paid the price when they lost outright. Among the collateral damage was Blossom Russo, who dropped his Wild Card on the Colts and lost $1,000 for the week. Missing this week was Waldo Geraldo Faldo, who even Carl Winslow couldn’t track down. No bets for Waldo, -$600 for the week. Four weeks in and only four franchises are in the positive. Two have $0. That leaves 22 in the negative. The good news is that some teams still have plenty of time to recover. But others are slipping away fast…
(current total; last week’s ranking)
1. Karl Farbman ($600, 4)
Farbman cashes in and has a perfect week to take the lead in the East and overall. But the league’s elite are nipping at his heels….
2. Kenny Powers ($400, 6)
Kenny Powers strikes again! Two perfect weeks in a row and just an eyelash behind Farbman, Kenny is not messing around in 2010.
3. Mr. DeBlasis ($200, 3)
Another East division team, DeBlasis won $100 and stayed positive, staying in the top three of the Top Ten.
4. Mr. Marbles ($200, 1)
Though he lost the overall lead and dropped $500 in Week 4, Marbles still leads the South. More importantly, he now holds a $1,700 lead over frienemy Blossom Russo.
5. The Notorious A.B.T. ($0, NR)
Just keeping his head above water, the A.B.T. skirted around all of the big losses this week and is first in the West.
6. The Beard of Zeus ($0, NR)
The Beard is alive and well. After a perfect week, he sits atop the lackluster North at even money. This could be a great opportunity to break away from the pack.
7. The Phoenix (-$100, 10)
Just a $100 week for the Phoenix, but he’s still in the mix. When the Phoenix bets, 60% of the time, he wins every time.
8. Yaz (-$100, 2)
This was the week Yaz could have taken over his division. Instead, he lost $500 and slipped down towards the bottom of the Top Ten.
9. Teddy KGB (-$200, 8 )
Teddy is hanging around and is within striking distance of the South lead.
10. Face (-$200, NR)
The ups and downs of Face’s season continue – he has a big $500 week that puts him just $200 out of the lead in the North.
OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES: The People’s Champ; Art Schlichter; Boss Hardigan
DROPPED OUT: Babe; Ron Mexico; Boss Hardigan
Week 5 Standings
East
| Karl Farbman | $600 |
| Kenny Powers | $400 |
| Mr. DeBlasis | $200 |
| The Phoenix | -$100 |
| Larisa Oleynik | -$600 |
| Bayonnaise | -$800 |
| The 21th Precinct | -$800 |
North
| The Beard of Zeus | $0 |
| Face | -$200 |
| Babe | -$400 |
| T-Ferg | -$1,000 |
| Kiko Garcia | -$1,000 |
| Kimmy Gibbler | -$1,200 |
| Waldo Geraldo Faldo | -$1,700 |
South
| Mr. Marbles | $200 |
| Yaz | -$100 |
| Teddy KGB | -$200 |
| The People’s Champ | -$200 |
| Art Schlichter | -$400 |
| Will Cover | -$1,000 |
| Blossom Russo | -$1,500 |
West
| The Notorious A.B.T. | $0 |
| Boss Hardigan | -$200 |
| Slovy Maximus | -$500 |
| Gordon Bombay | -$600 |
| Ron Mexico | -$700 |
| Rick Moranis | -$900 |
| Don Mattingly | -$1,600 |
Overall Leader
| Karl Farbman | $600 |
| Kenny Powers | $400 |
| Mr. DeBlasis | $200 |
| Mr. Marbles | $200 |
| The Beard of Zeus | $0 |
Week 4 Picks
As I See It: Art Schlichter
As part of a new running feature, each Friday one franchise owner will have the opportunity to write whatever they want in this space. This week’s columnist is the gambling aficionado Art Schlichter. Art, take it away….
As an avid watcher of many games of NFL football each week, I am in a perpetual state of shock at the game management tactics and strategies employed by head coaches. It’s almost as if coaches have no idea of the score at any point in the game.
The very first game of the season provides a great example. Trailing 14.5-14 at home to Minnesota, New Orleans took possession and began to march down the field for the winning field goal. With first-and-10 at the Minnesota 46 and 1:49 remaining, coach Sean Payton ordered Drew Brees to take a knee and kill the clock, dooming the Saints to defeat when they needed only a few more yards to attempt the winning kick. You have to wonder what Payton was doing in that situation.
The following week, Payton was again the goat as he kicked a field goal with 2 seconds left while trailing 26.5-22 in San Francisco. Any kid who plays Madden will tell you that’s the dumbest possible coaching move! The Saints lost 26.5-25 to drop to 0-2. To close observers of the NFL, this is no surprise after New Orleans’s disappointing 8-8 finish last season; Sean Payton needs to win some games if he expects to keep his job.
In Buffalo in Week 1, first-year Bills coach Chan Gailey showed the hometown fans that he is completely clueless by ordering the team to take a safety while leading by a mere half-point in the fourth quarter; the deuce handed Miami a 15-13.5 victory.
This year, I have noticed that even the officials seem to have no concept of the score. In week 1 in Pittsburgh, the officials ordered overtime to be played despite Pittsburgh holding an 11-9 lead over Atlanta! The hometown fans went insane, and I don’t blame them! Fortunately, the Steelers scored a touchdown to win 17-9.
In another controversial Saints game, the Falcons led New Orleans 28-24 at the end of regulation. Nevertheless, the officials ordered the teams to play overtime! Sean Payton confirmed his ineptitude as he launched a field goal that would have cut it to 28-27, Atlanta. Luckily for him, the kick was no good, as the Saints’ only chance to win was by scoring a touchdown since the officials were going to end the game after one more score. It didn’t matter, as Atlanta marched down the field and kicked a field goal to win 31-24.
At this point, I am so confused by the calls of the league’s coaches and the bizarre insistence on overtime by the officials that I am beginning the think the score is not displayed in NFL stadiums. Commissioner Roger Goodell needs to rectify this problem immediately, as it is inexcusable that a multi-billion dollar industry can’t even afford a scoreboard.
Hopefully we won’t see any more of these bizarre situations this weekend. Enjoy the games.
Week 4 Lines
Reminder: Picks must be in by Saturday at midnight in order to be considered on time.
The Top Ten: Week 4
Commentary: Apparently the recession ended, but not in the Funny Money Football League. Many franchises hemorrhaged cash in Week 3, but there were a few bright spots as well. Larisa Oleynik was the first to use her Wild Card bet this year, winning it but only netting $600 for the week. Larisa still is a little behind the pack, but made up some ground. A few squads also won $500 this week. But the long and short of it is that in two divisions $100 is leading, and in one division no one is in the positive. The first week with byes is here, so maybe that will be less games for franchises to wager incorrectly on.
(current total; last week’s ranking)
1. Mr. Marbles ($700, 1)
At least someone is doing relatively well. Mr. Marbles won another $300 and kept his lead in the South.
2. Yaz ($400, 5)
Yaz won $500 for the second straight week and is second overall, but is also second in the South. He’ll keep Mr. Marbles on his toes for the foreseeable future.
3. Mr. DeBlasis ($100, 10)
DeBlasis looked to be going conservative by betting five teams last week. But only a Monday night loss by Green Bay kept him from going 5-for-5. He now leads the East.
4. Karl Farbman ($100, 2)
Farbman dropped $100 and is now percentage points behind DeBlasis for the lead in the East.
5. Babe ($100, 3)
Babe split his bets and increased his lead in the North, with the rest of the teams struggling. Same as it was last week, he has a real chance to distance himself with two correct bets in Week 4.
6. Kenny Powers (-$100, NR)
Kenny makes his highest appearance to date in the Top Ten by reeling off a perfect week on the heels of two AFC North squads. Can he hang around with the big boys?
7. Boss Hardigan (-$100, NR)
And here comes the Boss! A perfect week has Hardigan with a division lead and visions of sugarplums dancing in his head.
8. Teddy KGB (-$100, NR)
Teddy squeaked out $100, but lost a bet on his hometown Rayyvens. Still, anything positive gets you into the Top Ten this year.
9. Ron Mexico (-$200, NR)
Ron is the only rookie in the Top Ten this week. Others have faded quickly, but Ron is only $100 out of the lead in the lackluster West.
10. The Phoenix (-$200, NR)
The Phoenix just won $500. You read that right. Give him a few weeks – he’ll have late bets at least twice by midseason.
OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES: The 21th Precinct; The Notorious A.B.T.
DROPPED OUT: Face; Slovy Maximus; Art Schlichter; The Notorious A.B.T.; Bayonnaise
Week 4 Standings
East
| Mr. DeBlasis | $100 |
| Karl Farbman | $100 |
| Kenny Powers | -$100 |
| The Phoenix | -$200 |
| The 21th Precinct | -$300 |
| Larisa Oleynik | -$500 |
| Bayonnaise | -$700 |
North
| Babe | $100 |
| T-Ferg | -$500 |
| The Beard of Zeus | -$500 |
| Face | -$700 |
| Kimmy Gibbler | -$700 |
| Kiko Garcia | -$900 |
| Waldo Geraldo Faldo | -$1,100 |
South
| Mr. Marbles | $700 |
| Yaz | $400 |
| Teddy KGB | -$100 |
| Art Schlichter | -$300 |
| The People’s Champ | -$500 |
| Blossom Russo | -$500 |
| Will Cover | -$900 |
West
| Boss Hardigan | -$100 |
| Ron Mexico | -$200 |
| The Notorious A.B.T. | -$300 |
| Slovy Maximus | -$400 |
| Gordon Bombay | -$700 |
| Rick Moranis | -$800 |
| Don Mattingly | -$1,100 |
Overall Leader
| Mr. Marbles | $700 |
| Yaz | $400 |
| Mr. DeBlasis | $100 |
| Karl Farbman | $100 |
| Babe | $100 |
Week 3 Picks
As I See It: Boss Hardigan
As part of a new running feature, each Friday one franchise owner will have the opportunity to write whatever they want in this space. This week’s columnist is the long suffering Boss Hardigan. Big Boss, take it away….
Maybe after two weeks I don’t quite see it, or get it. You know what I’m talking about right? Well, if you are one of those two profitable teams in the top 93rd percentile of franchises in FMFL after two weeks I assume they see “it” or get “it.” The other 25 franchises are left scraping up loose change and borrowing out of debt to make this week’s bets. Those teams need to re-focus and perhaps revise their strategies before digging themselves too deep of a hole they cannot climb out of.
I am more or less, referring to those Vegas lines, odds, or spreads. How do they seem to get to a majority of gamblers/suckers every week? Who makes the spreads? More importantly, how are they almost always spot on? Almost every franchise fell victim to a Vegas trap game last week.
Those games included underdogs such as Detroit, Chicago, St. Louis, SF, and KC all covering in Week 2. Many choosing the favorite thinking for example, “No way Detroit even comes close to covering against Philly.” Those silly covers, as I call them, can put the blame on other factors such as broken or demolished furniture, accelerated hair loss, and alcoholism.
As I see it, the human thought process tends to lean towards picking favorites, giving them the benefit of the doubt assuming they are the better team and can more easily cover than the underdog getting points. Take a look at last week’s outcomes as the underdogs won eight games against the spread and favorites won seven, with one push.
My theories are pretty much ass-backwards to start this season, as I used to think that it is best to take advantage of Vegas early on in the season. Thinking that they are working with the same information we are. The odds early on this season haven’t been large, yet some dogs that most of us are picking to lose are deciding that they want to win against the spread. Vegas is clearly on the ball to start the 2010 NFL season. How it goes from here is anyone’s guess.
One must think, though, do the early signs point to dogs continuing to cover at a high rate for the rest of the year? Who knows? But as I see it, that’s why Vegas stays in business and we keep coming back for more.
