Week 11 Picks
Week 11 Lines
Reminder: Bets must be in by Saturday night at midnight in order to be considered on time.
The Top Ten: Week 11
Commentary: Overall, the league has been doing a little bit better in the past few weeks. All of the would-be playoff teams are in the positive, and we are returning back to the normal projection of the Funny Money season. Traditionally, the final playoff spot is around $1,000, with the overall leader around $2,300. We could be headed that way with seven weeks to go and a ton of franchises with their wild card bets still on the shelf.
(current total; last week’s ranking)
1. Mr. Marbles ($1,300; 1)
Just a $100 week for Mr. Marbles, but he created some space between the rest of the South. He now has a $600 lead.
2. Bayonnaise ($1,300; 5)
Big boy Bayonnaise wins $500 and takes over the East! He’s tied for the overall lead and is on a huge run the last three weeks.
3. Ron Mexico ($1,200; 7)
In another division race that changed leaders, Ron Mexico won $500. That, paired with a bad week for Gordon Bombay, has given him a $800 lead in the West.
4. The Beard of Zeus ($1,200; 8 )
The biggest division disparity is still in the North, where the Beard leads the rest by $900.
5. Karl Farbman ($1,000; 2)
Farbman lost $100 and the lead in the East. Right now he sits atop the Wild Card standings, but needs a big week to get back in it.
6. The People’s Champ ($700; 3)
The Champ is still in the playoff mix as well, but is losing ground in the division with each passing week.
7. Mr. DeBlasis ($500; 6)
DeBlasis went “conservative” with a five-teamer. The result: one win, four losses. He’s now $800 back in the division, but has his hands on a playoff spot.
8. Gordon Bombay ($400; 4)
A big swing in the West. Bombay lost $500. What was a $200 lead is now a $800 deficit. A $1,000 swing leaves Gordie clinging to a playoff spot.
9. Babe ($300; NR)
Babe won $500 and would sneak into the playoff if the season ended today. Is this the beginning of a late-season run?
10. Kiko Garcia ($300; NR)
Kiko almost had a perfect week. He is on the outside looking in of the playoffs because of his poor winning percentage, so he’ll need to bring the noise in the coming weeks.
OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES: Kenny Powers; Slovy Maximus; Will Cover
DROPPED OUT: Boss Hardigan; Teddy KGB
Week 11 Standings
East
| Bayonnaise | $1,300 |
| Karl Farbman | $1,000 |
| Mr. DeBlasis | $500 |
| Kenny Powers | $0 |
| Larisa Oleynik | -$300 |
| The 21th Precinct | -$1,400 |
| The Phoenix | -$1,500 |
North
| The Beard of Zeus | $1,200 |
| Babe | $300 |
| Kiko Garcia | $300 |
| Kimmy Gibbler | -$200 |
| T-Ferg | -$900 |
| Waldo Geraldo Faldo | -$1,500 |
| Face | -$1,700 |
South
| Mr. Marbles | $1,300 |
| The People’s Champ | $700 |
| Will Cover | $0 |
| Yaz | -$100 |
| Teddy KGB | -$300 |
| Art Schlichter | -$1,300 |
| Blossom Russo | -$2,500 |
West
| Ron Mexico | $1,200 |
| Gordon Bombay | $400 |
| Slovy Maximus | $0 |
| Boss Hardigan | -$100 |
| The Notorious A.B.T. | -$300 |
| Don Mattingly | -$1,000 |
| Rick Moranis | -$1,200 |
Overall Leader
| Mr. Marbles | $1,300 |
| Bayonnaise | $1,300 |
| The Beard of Zeus | $1,200 |
| Ron Mexico | $1,200 |
| Karl Farbman | $1,000 |
Wild Card Standings
| Karl Farbman | $1,000 |
| The People’s Champ | $700 |
| Mr. DeBlasis | $500 |
| Gordon Bombay | $400 |
| Babe | $300 |
| ————– | ——- |
| Kiko Garcia | $300 |
| Kenny Powers | $0 |
| Slovy Maximus | $0 |
Week 10 Picks
As I See It: Babe
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 guest writer is Babe. He’s got a reaction to last week’s ‘As I See It.’ Babe, take it away….
When the Executive Director asked me to write up this week’s “As I See It” I wondered how I would follow up the history lesson dished out last week. And then it hit me…
Seven days ago 26 of us threw away 10 – 20 minutes of our lives re-hashing a day that will live in Funny Money infamy. Sure, we were all able to witness the birth of the game we all know and love, but we were also treated to some very important lessons in both gambling and life.
Number One – Nothing good can come out of a group of men getting together and giving themselves a nickname – The FUBARS? Really? This was like reading a drunk college girl’s AIM/Facebook profile a la “Love my girlies” or, my personal favorite, “You’re only as strong as the alcohol you drink, the tables you dance on and the friends by your side.”
Other notable “ambiguously” all male groups:
• New Kids on the Block
• Backstreet Boys
• *NSync
• New Edition
• Boyz II Men…OK, this last one is the exception rather than the rule.
Number Two – Quitters never win – We’re led to believe that a heartbreaking gambling loss drove a group of friends to throw in the towel, stop betting real money altogether and start up a relatively risk free, friendly game. However, that’s merely the excuse to mask the series of avoidable betting mistakes that drove these grumpy old men to give up football betting. Which brings me to #3…
Number Three – Gambling mistakes to avoid – What eventually led to all of us blindly placing our faith in our own abilities to play the odds against the weekly lines was a collection basic gambling no-no’s.
• Never bet for or against a team in your team’s division – A group of Browns fans picked the Steelers to win. Bad Karma. Period.
• If the worst gambler you know jumps on the bandwagon, then you must immediately jump off – To paraphrase the Sports Guy, this guy sucks the luck out of any pick he touches.
• Beware the suck bet – Every week there are one or two games where the odds seem unbelievably stacked in one team’s favor with a ridiculously small point spread. In this case a Steelers team stacked with future HOF’ers is favored over a misfit group of Raiders (from LA) on a frozen field in Pittsburgh.
As I see it, we all have a lot to learn from our Funny Money forefathers. For one, get out of the game early enough as to not end up looking like Brett Favre. Just let the kids play. And, finally, the only thing more depressing than losing your money to a bookie is losing it to your idiot friend you know just asked his girlfriend to pick the Lions +4 vs. the Jets.
Week 10 Lines
Reminder: Bets must be in by Saturday night at midnight in order to be considered on time.
The Top Ten: Week 10
Commentary: All of a sudden we are past the halfway point and heading toward home. With eight weeks left in the regular season, three of the four divisional races are tight, as is the race for the five wild-card spots. In the last few weeks, the league has rebounded from a brutal first half of the season, now with almost half the league on the positive side of zero. In Week 9, Yaz won his wild card bet and got back to $0, but still needs to make a run to get into the playoff picture. 17 franchises still have their big bet left.
(current total; last week’s ranking)
1. Mr. Marbles ($1,200; 5)
Marbles rises to the top with a $500 week. The division race in the South is heating up.
2. Karl Farbman ($1,100; 3)
A push and a win helped Karl maintain the lead in the East. He leads by $300 and trails the overall leader by $100.
3. The People’s Champ ($1,000; 2)
The rare completely even week for the Champ. One win – one loss – one push. He stayed at $1,000 but lost the lead in the division.
4. Gordon Bombay ($900; 1)
Another great division race in the West, Bombay won $200 and kept his lead over long-time rival Ron Mexico.
5. Bayonnaise ($800; 4)
The ‘Naise eked out $100 (one win and two push games). He has solidified himself as a contender in the three-horse race in the East.
6. Mr. DeBlasis ($800; NR)
DeBlasis is back in it after a perfect week. He trails Farbman by $300 but now sits in wild-card position.
7. Ron Mexico ($700; 7)
Mexico split his bets and stayed within earshot of Gordon Bombay in the West.
8. The Beard of Zeus ($700; 6)
The Beard has the largest lead of any franchise in the FMFL. His closest North Division foe is $700 behind. Granted that we have a long way to go, if the B of Z can win $500 this week, he’ll create a big gap with only seven weeks to go.
9. Boss Hardigan ($400; NR)
The Boss is alive after a $500 week. He’s in the playoff picture and could even make a run at the division if he can put it together the next few weeks.
10. Teddy KGB ($300; 10)
Ditto for Teddy, who won $500 and got a little closer to the top of the league.
OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES: Kenny Powers; Slovy Maximus; Kiko Garcia; Yaz
DROPPED OUT: Babe; Face
Week 10 Standings
East
| Karl Farbman | $1,100 |
| Mr. DeBlasis | $800 |
| Bayonnaise | $800 |
| Kenny Powers | $100 |
| Larisa Oleynik | -$200 |
| The Phoenix | -$1,000 |
| The 21th Precinct | -$1,300 |
North
| The Beard of Zeus | $700 |
| Kiko Garcia | $0 |
| Babe | -$200 |
| Kimmy Gibbler | -$700 |
| T-Ferg | -$1,000 |
| Face | -$1,100 |
| Waldo Geraldo Faldo | -$1,400 |
South
| Mr. Marbles | $1,200 |
| The People’s Champ | $1,000 |
| Teddy KGB | $300 |
| Yaz | $0 |
| Will Cover | -$100 |
| Art Schlichter | -$800 |
| Blossom Russo | -$2,400 |
West
| Gordon Bombay | $900 |
| Ron Mexico | $700 |
| Boss Hardigan | $400 |
| Slovy Maximus | $100 |
| The Notorious A.B.T. | -$800 |
| Don Mattingly | -$900 |
| Rick Moranis | -$1,300 |
Overall Leader
| Mr. Marbles | $1,200 |
| Karl Farbman | $1,100 |
| The People’s Champ | $1,000 |
| Gordon Bombay | $900 |
| Mr. DeBlasis | $800 |
Wild Card Standings
| The People’s Champ | $1,000 |
| Mr. DeBlasis | $800 |
| Bayonnaise | $800 |
| Ron Mexico | $700 |
| Boss Hardigan | $400 |
| ————– | ——- |
| Teddy KGB | $300 |
| Kenny Powers | $100 |
| Slovy Maximus | $100 |
Week 9 Picks
