Markinson Cup

Cup Finals Recap

2010-01-03T23:46:00.000-08:00

Montoya

A historic season for Proper Villains! Andrew beat Scott 143-66 to become the first to ever win both the Montoya League Championship and Montoya Cup, either in the same season or in a career. Amer is the only manager to have pulled off the double in Dufresne (more on that later).

Andrew's win also secured my spot in next season's Markinson Cup (thank you!!!) and ended Scott's perfect run of qualifications. Hubert is now the only manager in either league to have qualified for all four Markinson Cups.

I beat Hubert 136-121 for my 50th career win. I am the 5th manager to reach that milestone, after Hubert, Dean, Jason, and Scott. Hubert's run of 3 straight Montoya Cups is over, but he had another successful season, with 20 total wins, tops in the league.

Gina fell short of a return to Markinson, but she finished strong with a 90-point win over Dan! It gave her an impressive 17 wins for the season, the 3rd highest total this season behind Hubert and Drew, more than doubling her career total.

Dufresne

It's officially a rivalry. Once again a trophy came down to Nalu and Dean, and once again they posted the two highest scores for the week to win it. Last time Dean eked out the victory, but Nalu got some measure of revenge, winning 137-122 to secure the Dufresne Cup, his first career trophy! Dean finished as playoff runner-up for the 4th time in 4 tries, consequently falling short of matching Amer and Andrew's league doubles.

Drew beat Steve for his 20th win of the season, matching Hubert for top total. It was 2 shy of Dean's record 22 wins in 2007.

Markinson 2010

Now that things are finally settled, here is the lineup for next season's Markinson Cup:

1/2: Andrew and Dean
3/4: Hubert and Nalu
5/6: Jeremy and Russell
7/8: Chang and Drew

As mentioned above, this will be Hubert's 4th Markinson, an unmatched feat. Dean and I will be in our 3rd, and Jeremy and Drew will be in their 2nd. The previous 3 champions (me, Amer, and Drew) were Markinson rookies the year we won the title, so Andrew, Nalu, and Russell are all hoping that streak continues. Drew and I will be looking to be the first 2-time winner.

Thanks all for participating! It's been a great season, and I look forward to another one in just 9 months!

League Page:

Markinson Cup

Semifinal Recap

2009-12-30T17:56:00.000-08:00

Montoya

Andrew easily dispatches Dan 146-96, eliminating Dan from Markinson contention. Dan will come back next year still seeking his first champions league bid.

Gina is also eliminated from Markinson contention after losing to Scott 94-107.

Scott now faces Andrew in the finals, and a win will keep his perfect Markinson streak intact. A win by Andrew gets me back into Markinson. Nothing personal, Scott, but go Proper Villains!

Dufresne

Dean knocks out Amer 123-84, ensuring that Amer will miss Markinson for the first time since he has joined the league.

Nalu takes out Russell 143-133, but because of Amer's loss, Russell earns his first ever Markinson bid! Welcome to the big show, Russell!

The Dufresne Markinson lineup is now set for next season: Dean, Nalu, Russell, Drew.

Nalu now gets another shot at Dean for a trophy, after falling agonizingly short in the regular season finale. Two games in a month, both for a trophy... they've proven they are the clear top two of Dufresne this season. A budding rivalry, perhaps?

Both Dean and Andrew are trying to match Amer's singular feat - winning a League Championship and League Cup in the same season. Actually, Amer is still the only one to win both in a career. I hope he can't still say that after this weekeend.

Good luck to Andrew, Dean, and Nalu! :P

Quarterfinal Recap

2009-12-21T23:55:00.000-08:00

Montoya

In the immortal words of Vince Lombardi, "What the hell is going on out there?" It was a terrible, terrible day for FC Hang. As the one on the Markinson bubble, I was rooting for all favorites, and 3 of them fell. Help me Andrew's Proper Villains, you're my only hope.

The league champ took care of business with a 163-125 pounding of Lisa, who had a great week herself but just ran into a buzzsaw. Lisa's hopes for a return to Markinson are now dashed.

The biggest shocker was Scott ending Hubert's 9-playoff-game and 3-playoff-cup winning streaks. Scott has never missed Markinson, and he still has hopes of keeping that streak alive.

Gina took down Jeremy, and next up is a showdown with Scott to see who will be playing in the finals for a ticket to the big show.

DanFran took me down for the second straight week, and now he gets the league champ. If he beats Andrew, my Markinson bid will be toast, and his hopes for a first ever bid will remain alive.

Dufresne

Russell had a much better day. Also on the bubble, he too was rooting for the favorites, and 3 of them came through, including himself. Only Drew fell short, and Amer is now the only potential spoiler after a 159-122 win. Amer has yet to miss qualifying for Markinson, and next up he'll face league champ Dean to keep his hopes alive.

Dean easily knocked off Eddy but should expect a much stiffer challenge from Amer. We know who Russell will be rooting for. A win by Dean guarantees Russell's first ever Markinson bid.

Russell beat Jason, which means Jason will miss Markinson for the first time ever. Markinson will miss the Texas All Stars, too.

Next up for Russell is Nalu, who took care of Steve in a matchup of the two newest managers. Nalu had a similar first season to Steve's, so we'll expect Steve to follow Nalu's lead and step it up next season.

Consolation games still count toward your career record, so stay focused! And go Andrew!

Career Records

2009-12-15T10:10:00.000-08:00

Here are the career records in the major categories now that the regular season is over. The upcoming playoff results will only affect wins; points and Heinekens are not tracked in the playoffs.

And in case you were wondering, and I know you were, Dean's average position in these rankings is 2.31, while Hubert's is 2.46.

Overall Wins

71 - Hubert
63 - Dean
55 - Jason
52 - Scott
48 - Chang
45 - Drew
44 - Amer
38 - Jeremy
37 - Lisa
35 - Andrew
35 - Eddy
30 - Gina
28 - Dan
24 - Russell
15 - Nalu
5 - Steve

Markinson Wins

24 - Hubert
21 - Jason
20 - Dean
17 - Amer
17 - Chang
14 - Scott
11 - Drew
10 - Lisa
9 - Gina
6 - Eddy
5 - Jeremy

Premier League Wins

38 - Dean
38 - Hubert
34 - Scott
31 - Drew
30 - Andrew
28 - Jason
28 - Jeremy
27 - Chang
25 - Dan
24 - Lisa
23 - Eddy
23 - Russell
22 - Amer
18 - Gina
14 - Nalu
5 - Steve

Playoff Wins

9 - Hubert
6 - Eddy
6 - Jason
5 - Amer
5 - Andrew
5 - Dean
5 - Jeremy
4 - Chang
4 - Scott
3 - Dan
3 - Drew
3 - Gina
3 - Lisa
1 - Nalu
1- Russell

Overall Points

11233.30 - Hubert
10959.20 - Scott
10923.36 - Jason
9878.40 - Dean
9005.90 - Chang
8522.16 - Lisa
7992.56 - Amer
7516.44 - Jeremy
7330.46 - Gina
7208.26 - Drew
6729.30 - Eddy
5865.50 - Andrew
5703.12 - Dan
5480.80 - Russell
2988.36 - Nalu
1347.00 - Steve

Markinson Points

4710.80 - Jason
4657.20 - Hubert
4281.90 - Scott
3276.10 - Dean
3274.32 - Amer
3041.72 - Chang
2725.68 - Lisa
1627.12 - Gina
1568.58 - Drew
1457.68 - Jeremy
1393.16 - Eddy

Premier League Points

6677.30 - Scott
6602.30 - Dean
6576.10 - Hubert
6212.56 - Jason
6058.76 - Jeremy
5964.18 - Chang
5865.50 - Andrew
5796.48 - Lisa
5703.34 - Gina
5703.12 - Dan
5639.68 - Drew
5480.80 - Russell
5336.14 - Eddy
4718.24 - Amer
2988.36 - Nalu
1347.00 - Steve

Overall Points Per Game

117.60 - Dean
114.63 - Hubert
114.18 - Amer
111.83 - Scott
111.46 - Jason
107.38 - Jeremy
107.21 - Chang
106.73 - Nalu
104.74 - Andrew
104.72 - Gina
102.98 - Drew
101.84 - Dan
101.45 - Lisa
97.87 - Russell
96.21 - Steve
96.13 - Eddy

Markinson Points Per Game

117.00 - Dean
116.94 - Amer
116.22 - Gina
112.16 - Jason
112.04 - Drew
110.89 - Hubert
108.63 - Chang
104.12 - Jeremy
101.95 - Scott
99.51 - Eddy
97.35 - Lisa

Premier League Points Per Game

119.24 - Scott
117.90 - Dean
117.43 - Hubert
112.34 - Amer
110.94 - Jason
108.19 - Jeremy
106.73 - Nalu
106.50 - Chang
104.74 - Andrew
103.51 - Lisa
101.85 - Gina
101.84 - Dan
100.71 - Drew
97.87 - Russell
96.21 - Steve
95.29 - Eddy

Overall Heinekens

24 - Scott
23 - Dean
16 - Hubert
13 - Jason
12 - Amer
11 - Jeremy
9 - Chang
7 - Eddy
5 - Andrew
5 - Gina
5 - Lisa
4 - Drew
4 - Nalu
4 - Russell
2 - Dan
0 - Steve

Markinson Heinekens

8 - Amer
6 - Chang
6 - Dean
6 - Jason
5 - Hubert
4 - Scott
3 - Gina
2 - Jeremy
1 - Lisa
0 - Drew
0 - Eddy

Premier League Heinekens

20 - Scott
17 - Dean
11 - Hubert
9 - Jeremy
7 - Eddy
7 - Jason
5 - Andrew
4 - Amer
4 - Drew
4 - Lisa
4 - Nalu
4 - Russell
3 - Chang
2 - Dan
2- Gina
0 - Steve

End of Regular Season Recap

2009-12-14T20:55:00.000-08:00

Markinson

It's official. Congratulations Drew, best of the best! In the process of winning the Markinson Cup, he also ties my record for wins in a season with 11.

Jason had a disappointing season but ends it on a high note with his 13th career Heineken to beat Amer by 1 point.

Gina, Hubert, Amer, and Jason each had 3 Heinekens, and 7th-place Lisa and 8th-place Scott somehow had one each. Drew was just the 5th-highest scoring team this season and did not win a single Heineken, but somehow it was enough to win the league by TWO games! Dude just knows how to win. :)

By winning the title, Drew guarantees himself a spot in next year's Markinson Cup and a chance to be the first to ever repeat. Amer can tell you how tough that is. He had the highest point total for the season but finished 4th, 4 games back.

Drew is also the third straight Markinson Cup winner to pull it off on his first try, following me and Amer.

If Hubert's progression from 4th in '07 to 3rd in '08 to 2nd this season is any indication, he's a shoe-in to win his first Markinson Cup next season. :)

Dufresne has now won 2 of the 3 Markinson Cups.

Montoya

Andrew is the Montoya champion! It is his first career trophy, and it also earns him his first career Markinson bid. Congratulations, Andrew!

Scott avoids finishing in last place by beating Lisa, and he does it with his record-extending 24th career Heineken. Way to finish strong, Scott.

Hubert and Jeremy each won 3 Heinekens, and Gina, Scott, Andrew, and I each won 2. Andrew finished with the 3rd-highest point total, but like Drew, he just knows how to win.

Hubert finishes second in both leagues, the 3rd and 4th times he has finished second in a league. He has yet to finish on top and is by far the best yet to win a title, or BYTWAT for short (pronounced "bi-twat"). He has won 3 Montoya Cups and now turns his focus to extending his record 9-game playoff winning streak.

Andrew, Hubert, and Jeremy have earned Markinson bids, and I am on the bubble pending playoff results. Let's just say I'll be happy if ANY Asian male wins Montoya Cup. Dan, Gina, Scott, and Lisa need to win Montoya Cup to qualify. Now that Andrew has qualified, Dan is the only one in Montoya still looking for his first bid.

Dufresne

What a finish as Dean completes the ultimate comeback to win his second Dufresne Championship! Dean needed to beat Nalu and hope that Russell lost to Steve. Steve beat Russell by 27, so Pansies v. Tsunami was winner-take-all, and Pansies came out on top 151.74 - 148.88. Incredible game between the top two scorers this week and this season. Tough, TOUGH loss for Nalu to swallow, but Dean has finished 2nd in a league 3 times, so he has no sympathy (or maybe he has a lot).

Dean's Heineken is his 23rd career beer, which would have tied Scott for the record had Scott not snagged one of his own this week. Dean led the league with 5, while Russell had 3, Nalu and Drew had 2 each, and Amer and Eddy each had 1.

Dean's 9 wins are the fewest ever by any league champion, but they were just enough because of his league-leading point total.

Dean, Nalu, and Drew have earned Markinson bids, and Russell is on the bubble for his first ever Markinson bid pending playoff results. Jason, Amer, Steve, and Eddy need to win Dufresne Cup to qualify. Jason was in the same position last year and pulled it off, and he's won 2 of 3 Dufresne Cups, so watch out for him. He and Amer are both trying to avoid missing out on Markinson for the first time, but at least one of them will come up short.

Starling Cup

Dean wins his first Starling Cup, by 116 points over Nalu and 120 over Hubert. In the end, it wasn't even close. It is Dean's third major trophy to go along with his two Dufresne championships. Congrats again, Dean! After all your runner-up finishes over the years, this season has to make up for a lot of it.

Miscellaneous

Hubert and Drew both won 2 games this week to bring their season totals to 19. That means if either wins his league cup, he will match Dean's record 22 wins in 2007. I would not be disappointed at all if Hubert pulls it off. :)

Hubert finished with 3332.16 total points this season (playoffs don't count for points or Heinekens, just wins), coming up short of Jason's record 3478.98 points from 2007. Still, Hubert showed amazing consistency by scoring 1670 in Montoya and 1660 in Markinson.

Great regular season, all. Still much to play for over the next 3 weeks, so stay focused! And good luck!

Week 13 Recap

2009-12-08T14:38:00.000-08:00

A different kind of recap this week since I've laid everything out already.

Gina came into this season with 0 Heinekens, and now she has 5. She is double-fisting this week, with top scores in both Montoya and Dufresne. Nice way to celebrate her birthday!

Russell came into this season with 1 Heineken, and now he has 4. The pre-season Vegas over/under on Gina + Russell combined Heinekens was 0.5, so if you had the over, you won comfortably. :)

Dean leads Hubert by 100 for Starling, so I think it's safe to say he's got it sewn up! Congrats, Dean, your second trophy, and first since 2006!

Hubert and Drew have 17 wins each, with 2 regular season and 3 playoff games remaining. The record for wins in a season is 22 by Dean in 2007, so Hubert and Drew can tie that record by winning out.

Hubert has 3082.76 points, with 2 regular season games remaining. The record is 3478.98 by Jason in 2007, so Hubert needs to score 396.22 in those two games to tie the record. Yeah, this one's safe.

Hubert has 6 Heinekens this season, so even if he wins the last two, he'd still be 2 short of Scott's record 10 Heinekens in 2006. And Scott did that in one league.

Gee, Hubert seems to be having a nearly historically great season, but will it translate into his first league title?

If Drew wins his final Markinson game, he will tie my record of 11 wins in a season. As much as I'd hate to share that record with someone so unworthy, my Markinson bid is hinging on that win, so go Drew!

Gina is now the career PPG leader in Markinson. Dean is still the overall PPG leader.

This will be the first season that the Dufresne champion doesn't win 11 games. You guys suck.

Dean has 1639.48 points in Dufresne. The record is 1808.74 by Jason in 2007. Dean needs 169.26 points in his final game to tie the record. He's topped that mark once this season, so it's possible.

All right, that's enough random knowledge for now. Can't wait to see how things play out this week!

Your Guide to the Final Week

2009-12-06T20:30:00.000-08:00

Only one game left in the chase for the Markinson, Montoya, and Dufresne Championships. And then it's League Cup time, aka playoff time, aka Julius/Texas time. Here's the situation:

Markinson

The title of ultimate champion is officially down to two managers, Drew and Gina.

Drew simply needs to beat Eddy, who has lost 6 of his last 7 games. Even if he loses, he will still claim the title if Gina loses to Lisa, who has lost 6 of her last 8.
Gina claims the title if she beats Lisa AND Eddy beats Drew.

Montoya

This title is also down to two managers, Andrew and Hubert.

If Andrew beats Gina, or Hubert loses to Jeremy, Andrew is champion.
If Hubert beats Jeremy AND Andrew loses to Gina, Hubert is champion.

Gina's team is dangerous. In her last 6 games, she has scored, 132, 142, 125, 90, 121, and 125. She's actually scoring at the same pace as Andrew on the season. So there is some hope for Hubert. But Hubert faces the second highest scoring team in the league behind his own, so he has his hands full, too.

For Markinson bids, Andrew has officially clinched his first ever bid! Congratulations, Andrew!

The Hubert/Jeremy winner will also clinch a spot in next year's Markinson.

Dan, Lisa, and Scott will need to win the League Cup to qualify for Markinson. If Gina doesn't win Markinson, she'll be added to this list. If she does win Markinson, the Hubert/Jeremy loser and I will be added to this list. Simply put, Hubert, Jeremy, and I are rooting for you, Darby United!

Dufresne

There are three teams still alive in the title chase, Nalu, Russell, and Dean.

For Nalu, it's simple. Well, simple to explain, not to accomplish. Beat Dean and he is champion. But Dean is going to win Starling Cup, so obviously that's a brutal matchup.
Russell is champion if he beats 7th place Steve AND Nalu loses to Dean. But watch out for Steve, who put up over 130 points this week and finally showed some life.
Dean is champion if he beats Nalu AND Steve beats Russell.

No one in Dufresne has clinched a Markinson birth. The Dean/Nalu winner will clinch a birth, and Russell would clinch one with a win.

Jason, Amer, Steve, and Eddy will need to win the League Cup to qualify for Markinson.

Good luck!

Week 12 Recap

2009-11-30T20:55:00.000-08:00

Now just two weeks to go, and title scenarios are starting to come into focus. Markinson qualification is a mess that I'll address next week.

Markinson

Drew comes up big again, beating Hubert by 14 to stay alone in first place. The loss drops Hubert two games back with two to go, technically still alive with a 90-point lead on Drew, but really it's just a killer loss. A win would have put Hubert in the driver's seat. Instead, Drew controls his own destiny, and his last two games are against teams in the bottom half of the standings.

Gina is just a game back in second place after beating Scott by 16, and she leads Drew by 70 points, so two wins combined with a Drew loss would likely give her the title. But next up for her is a huge game against Amer.

Amer kept his slim title hopes alive with his 12th career Heineken in an 89-point win(!!!) over Lisa. With a 170-point lead on Drew, he's in pretty much the same boat as Hubert, technically alive but having blown his big shot against Drew last week.

Eddy is off the schneid, snapping his 5-game losing streak with a 5-point win over Jason.

Montoya

Bad week for Hubert. Two 1 vs. 2 games, two losses. Andrew handles him easily by 33 to move back into first place and in control of his own destiny. Win out and the title - along with a first ever Markinson bid - is his. Hubert has a 74-point lead on Andrew, so two wins and an Andrew loss would likely give him his first league title. But Andrew's final two opponents are in the bottom 3 in the standings.

I beat Lisa by 19 to stay in title contention. I have a 44-point lead on Andrew, so I need two wins, an Andrew loss, and probably a Hubert loss to win the title. My eyes are more focused on the rear view mirror and a Markinson bid at this point.

Jeremy scores his 11th career Heineken to drop Dan by 70 in a huge 4 vs. 5 game. He's still technically alive in the title chase, but perhaps more importantly, he creates some separation from Dan in the Markinson chase.

Gina continues a strong second half with a 39-point win over Scott. She is technically still alive in the chase to finish fourth, but it's a real long shot. Her best chance to qualify for Markinson next year is to win Markinson this year.

Dufresne

Nalu beats Steve by 27 to stay on top and in control of his own destiny. Win out, and he's champion. But his final two games are against Amer and Dean. Doesn't get much tougher than that.

Russell beats Eddy by 23 to hold onto second place. He is tied with Nalu by record, but he trails by 103 points, so he needs two wins and a Nalu loss to take the crown. His final two opponents are in the bottom 4.

Dean is still solidly in contention after earning his 22nd career Heineken (just 1 behind Scott) in an 87-point win(!!!) over Jason, almost the largest margin of victory in Dufresne history. Dean is a game behind Nalu and Russell, but he has a huge points lead on both, so he needs two wins and a loss by each of them to win the title. And he gets his own shot at Nalu in week 14. Dean also increases his Starling lead over Hubert to 96 points, a seemingly insurmountable amount.

Drew is also still in the title hunt after his 16-point win over Amer, but it's a long shot. The win positions him well to qualify for Markinson, though he may make that moot with the Markinson title.

Week 11 Recap

2009-11-23T21:44:00.000-08:00

Markinson

Just 3 games remaining, and this 4-horse race might be down to 3. Because of Amer's point lead, it's still conceivable that he could win out, have Drew go 1-2, and have Hubert and Gina go no better than 2-1. But no one has ever won a league title with 5 losses, so Amer's chances are looking bleak. Of course, the last time I wrote that, he strung together 5 straight wins to move back into contention, so we'll see.

Drew is still alone in first at 8-3 thanks to his huge 10-point win over Amer, dropping the reigning champ to 4th place and 2 games back.

Hubert pulls in his 16th career Heineken to drop Jason by 44. Hubert plays Drew next, and the winner will be in first place heading into the final two games of the season.

Gina remains in contention, moving up to third place and just a game back of Drew with her 42-point win over Eddy, whose losing streak has now reached 5 after a 5-1 start.

Scott beats Lisa by 37 to give himself a shot at crawling out of the basement before season's end.

Montoya

Jeremy scores his 10th career Heineken, the 6th person to reach double digit brews (Scott, Dean, Hubert, Jason, Amer), and he beats Lisa by 71 points! The win is big in another way as well, moving Jeremy back into 4th place and in line for Markinson 2010.

Hubert is the new man on top after beating Gina by 30. His win, combined with Andrew's 13-point loss to me, puts them both at 8-3, with me just a game back at 7-4. Hubert has a 106-point lead on Andrew, but they face each other next, giving Andrew his one shot to render that point lead moot. A loss for Andrew would mean his only shot at the title would be to finish 2-0 while Hubert finishes 0-2.

Dan loses a heart-breaker to Scott by just 0.76 points, dropping him from 4th to 5th and out of league title contention. But he is tied with Jeremy at 6-5 for that all-important spot in 4th place. It's about time Scott won one of these types of games. It's also the first week this season that Scott has won in both leagues.

Dufresne

I'm not even going to try to handicap this race yet. Five teams are either tied for or within a game of first place, and one of the teams a game back is Dean's Pansies, which hold a significant points lead on the rest of the league. So anything can still happen.

After an excruciatingly painful Saturday evening, Nalu vowed to me that he would take out his frustrations on Dufresne and snag the Heineken (true story). Not one to fall short on his promises, Nalu secures his 4th career Heineken in a 48-point win over Eddy, who has lost a combined 9 straight in the two leagues. Nalu is now back in first, having righted the ship after a 3-game skid.

Russell moves up to second with his 5-point win over Dean, dropping Dean from 1st to 3rd. Dean still leads for the Starling Cup, increasing the gap over Hubert by 2 points to 43.

Drew drops from 2nd to 4th and tumbles out of Starling contention after posting only 59 points in a 42-point loss to Steve. Seven of his players combined for just 10 points total!

Amer stays in the hunt for Markinson with a 7-point win over Jason, who is also lurking in the Markinson hunt, and well as the title chase. Weird season.

Don't forget, lots of Thursday games this holiday week. Enjoy Thanksgiving, but set your lineups!

Week 10 Recap

2009-11-17T23:45:00.000-08:00

Markinson

Jason takes his spoiler role seriously, bringing home the Heineken in a 57-point beating of first-place Drew. The loss prevents Drew from taking a 2-game lead in the standings.

Hubert stays in the hunt with a crucial 3-point squeaker over Gina, who would have moved into first place with a win. They are both just a game back of Drew with substantial point leads.

So is Amer, who beats Scott by 17 to win his 5th straight and move all the way up to 2nd place. His quest to repeat looked bleak just a month ago, but now he may be the favorite. He has a huge game next week against Drew to determine 1st place.

Lisa tops Eddy by 41, most likely dropping him out of contention after his 4th straight loss.

Montoya

Hubert picks up another Heineken in his 27-point win over Scott, keeping him in second place.

Andrew stays in first with a 24-point win over Jeremy. The loss drops Jeremy out of the top four.

Gina beats me by 24, keeping alive her outside shot at a Markinson bid with her 3rd straight win.

Dan also wins his 3rd straight, by 16 over Lisa, moving him into 4th place and in line for his first Markinson bid.

Dufresne

Wow, what a season. Five teams tied for first place! At least one of which isn't qualifying for Markinson.

Amer scores a Heineken to take down 1st-place Dean by 31. Amer still has an outside shot of sneaking into the top four, while Dean drops back to the pack but maintains his top position thanks to his points lead. He also still leads Hubert for Starling by 41 points.

Drew tops Eddy by 16 to win his 4th straight and move up to 2nd place. He's been on fire!

Jason is also on fire, beating Steve by 22 to notch his 3rd straight win and move up to 5th place, tied for 1st in record. It's Steve's 6th straight loss. Welcome to the big leagues, bro. ;)

Russell beats Nalu by 22 to add to the chaos at the top of the standings. Russell keeps his all-important 4th spot, while Nalu drops to 3rd, the lowest he's been in the standings since week 2.

Week 9 Recap

2009-11-09T23:38:00.000-08:00

Markinson

Gina picks up a Heineken for the second straight week (3rd career), this time in Markinson, helping her to a 40-point win over Jason. The win keeps her in second place, one game back.

Drew stays in first place with his 4th straight win, this one a tight 6-pointer over Scott.

Amer also wins his 4th straight, a 60-point beatdown of Eddy, who manages only 63 points. What's happening to Dunkel Weizen? Amer continues to lurk in 3rd place, a legit threat to repeat as champion of champions, but he'll need some help at two games back.

Hubert also stays alive with a 14-point win over Lisa.

Montoya

My 2nd Heineken this season (9th career) once again comes against Scott, who continues to face the toughest schedule. Last time he had the second-highest score, and this time he has the third highest, but he still loses by 30. My schedule must be pretty tough, too, if I keep needing Heinekens to beat last place. The win keeps me in third.

Andrew moves back into first place with a 15-point win over Lisa and is poised to qualify for Markinson for the first time!

Hubert drops back to second after losing to Dan by 37, but he continues to lead in points. He also becomes the first manager to 10,000 career points! Dan finally has a winning record this season and looks ready to make a run at his first Markinson bid as well.

Gina follows up her Heineken with the second-highest score of the week, good enough for a 14-point win over Jeremy. Despite the loss, Jeremy continues to hold down the 4th spot.

Dufresne

Darby scores his 2nd straight Heineken (4th career), and he needs it to beat Nalu, who notches the second-highest score of the week yet loses by 26. Nalu's second straight loss (after a record-tying 6-game win streak) drops him to 2nd in the standings, and Drew's third straight win moves him up to 3rd. Drew has the longest active winning streaks in both Markinson and Dufresne, a combined 7 straight!

Dean wins by 18 over Steve to move into first place. And his Starling lead is now up to 69 over Hubert, 72 over Drew, and 82 over me and Nalu.

Russell passes Amer on a garbage-time TD pass from Big Ben to Hines Ward on MNF, going from a painful 1-point loss to a seemingly comfortable 11-point win. The win keeps him in the top four and in position for his first Markinson bid.

Eddy posts his second straight anti-Heineken to lose to Jason by 17. I repeat, what's happening to Dunkel Weizen? Jason moves up to 5th but just a game back of 1st place in a tight race for the title.

Five more weeks to go! And don't forget, this week starts on Thursday!

Week 8 Recap

2009-11-03T19:04:00.000-08:00

Markinson

It's been a tough season for Scott, but he manages to snag his 23rd career Heineken in his 15-point win over Eddy. He's still in last place but is primed to play spoiler, starting by dropping Eddy to third place.

Drew comes up just 0.34 points short of Heineken, but he still wins his second straight game against first place, beating Gina by 9, and now he's the man at the top of the standings.

Amer takes out Hubert by 15, his third straight win, and now he's back in contention, just two games back but with a large points lead. Can he repeat?

Jason loses a tough one to Lisa by 4 points, and his title chase is likely over. Time to play spoiler.

Montoya

Gina scores her second career Heineken in her 50-point beatdown of Lisa. Both have uphill battles to qualify for Markinson and will need to string some wins together to have a chance.

Hubert moves into first place after taking me down by 13. I score third highest in the league but drop to 3rd place.

Andrew falls to second after losing to Dan by 4. Two late turnovers by Dan's defense on MNF give him his margin for victory, and he's in the thick of the Markinson chase at 5th in the standings.

Jeremy keeps his all-important spot in 4th with his 17-point win over Scott.

Dufresne

Drew gets his third career Heineken in his 42-point win over Russell. His second straight win moves him into third, positioning him for a return to Markinson. Russell drops to fifth but is still right in the thick of things.

Nalu loses to Jason by 19, ending his record-tying 6-game win streak and his runaway title bid. He still holds down the top spot by one game.

Dean comes up just 2 points shy of his 22nd Heineken, but he still destroys Eddy by 66 points to move into second place, and with his massive points lead, he's really only a half-game back in the standings. He leads Hubert by 60 in the Starling race.

In the battle to avoid the bottom, Amer beats Steve by 44, keeping his qualification chances alive.

Midseason Report: Strength of Schedule

2009-10-27T17:56:00.000-07:00

Do you ever get the feeling that your fantasy football team has the worst scheduling luck? Somehow your opponents' studs always have easy matchups and go off against you. They say it's supposed to even out over the long run. Is half a season long enough? Let's find out...

I. Methodology
The average weekly scoring total per team is fairly consistent at 110 fantasy points. If you're a stickler for details, it comes out out to an identical 109.9 for Markinson and Montoya, with Dufresne lagging slightly at 108.3.

The first value we need to get is the expected opponent score. To personalize this to each team, we tweak the overall league average by removing the individual team's scoring output from the calculation. Intuitively, if a team is a powerhouse scorer that props up the league average, one would expect its opponents to score less than the league average. This turns out to make only a slight difference, usually only +/- 1 point, topping out at -3 points for Dean, the current Starling leader.

Calculating the actual opponent score is a straightforward average of the weekly points against totals.

Subtract the actual opponent score from the expected opponent score, and we arrive at a SOS point differential. High number means you've got it made. Negative number means your opponents rise to the challenge and outdo themselves against you.

II. Results
Results are listed by league, in order of current standings.
- Opponent average: actual average point total by opposing teams
- SOS: differential between actual and expected opponent average score
- Color coding: cut off arbitrarily at 10 pts (green = good, red = bad)

Dufresne

Team	Opponent Average	SOS
Tsunami	109	-2
Pansies	114	-8
Millenium Falcons	106	3
Dunkel Weizen	92	17
Darby United	116	-8
Texas All Stars	107	2
Amer United	113	-4
FC Ocho Cinco	110	0

The results are less informative in Dufresne, where Eddy has enjoyed an extremely favorable schedule with opponents scoring on average 17 points less than expected, but hasn't been able to ride it to the top. Instead, Nalu enters the break with a 2 game lead at 6-1, largely due to some clutch performances, including 2 wins by less than 2 points and another win by less than 3 points.

Montoya

Team	Opponent Average	SOS
Proper Villains	87	22
Julius de la Berg	101	7
FC Hang	119	-10
Whoosh	109	1
Collateral Estoppel	110	0
Rapscallions	111	0
Da Big G	125	-14
Fantasia Orins	117	-6

In Montoya, Andrew reigns supreme in strength of schedule. His opponents average an anemic 87 points against him, with an opponent scoring over 100 points against him just a single time this season at 104. An expected average point differential of +5 has ballooned into +27 with some scheduling friendliness. On the flip side, Chang is hanging steady in 3rd place despite scoring fewer total points than his opponents while averaging 114 points per game. This aberration is due mostly to a couple beatdowns by 100 total points paired with some narrow victories. Gina, on the other hand, has had her work cut out for her, with opponents scoring an amazing 125 points per game against her, with nobody ever scoring less than 100. Likewise, Scott hasn't caught any scheduling breaks either, also with no opponent ever scoring less than 100 points.

Markinson

Team	Opponent Average	SOS
Da Big G	96	13
Dunken Weizel	102	8
Darby United	93	17
Julius de la Berg	120	-11
Amer United	121	-13
Texas All Stars	111	-2
Collateral Estoppel	106	5
Fantasia Orins	129	-18

Markinson has been a roller coaster ride, as evidenced by the fairly bunched standings. Not surprisingly, the top 3 teams have had the friendliest schedules, with Gina, Eddy, and Drew having opponents average 96, 102, and 93 points against them, respectively. The going has been tougher for myself and Amer; an expected average +6 and +17 point differential was slashed to -4 and +3, respectively, with opponents putting up an average of 120 points. Once again Scott runs into scheduling madness, with opponents averaging a ridiculous 129 points against him. To put that in perspective, that's on pace for 1808 points against, while it took only 1643 to win Starling last season.

III. Conclusions
Judging by the number of teams with favorable strength of schedule near the top of standings, particularly in Montoya and Markinson, the adage "it's better to be lucky than good" is holding true.

Hope your 2nd halves are both lucky and good, unless you are playing me. And especially not if you've already had the benefit of missing the following opponents due to bye: Kurt Warner, Anquan Boldin, DeAngelo Williams, Marion Barber, Frank Gore, Chris Johnson, and now Tom Brady to start the 2nd half. Freaking Andrew!!

Week 7 Recap

2009-10-27T15:22:00.000-07:00

Markinson

Amer continues to climb back into contention, scoring his 10th career Heineken in his 10-point win over Jason. Tough luck for Jason, who posts the week's second-highest score in the loss.

On the flipside, Gina beats Lisa by 9 despite posting the week's second-lowest score, and the win moves her back into first place.

That's because Eddy drops his big matchup against Drew, coming up just 3 points short to fall back into second place. Drew's win creates a three-way tie for wins at the top, and next week he gets his second straight game against first place.

Hubert stays in contention with a 27-point win over Scott, who continues to struggle in last place.

Montoya

Andrew captures his 5th career Heineken to beat Gina by 52 and take a 1-game lead at the top of the standings.

Jeremy takes down Hubert by 18 to hold onto his all-important spot in the top four. Hubert falls to his familiar position in 2nd place.

Lisa tops Scott by 20 to stay in Markinson contention and keep Scott at the bottom of the standings. He is a combined 2-12 this season, and his Markinson streak looks to be ending at 3 seasons barring a miracle.

I top Dan by 29 to stay in 3rd.

Dufresne

In a huge matchup, Nalu beats Dean by 18 to take a 2-game lead on Dean at the top of the standings, and he snags his 3rd career Heineken in the process. In the loss, Dean still manages to extend his Starling lead to 33 over Hubert, and Nalu pulls to within 59.

Drew comes up 2 points shy of snagging Nalu's Heineken, but he still scores enough to beat Jason by 31 and keep himself in the middle of the pack. Just a tough-luck week for Jason in both leagues.

Eddy stays in the top 4 with an important 18-point win over Amer.

And Russell moves up to 3rd after squeaking by Steve by 2 points. It's a gift from Steve, who gets -3 points from his Raiders D and Raiders K combined. Keep those two spots empty and he wins by 1. Start pretty much any other K and D in the league and he wins easily.

Halfway home! Finish strong!

League Page:

http://www.seahang.com/markinson.html

Week 6 Recap

2009-10-19T21:43:00.000-07:00

What a week! The kind where 150 isn't good enough for Heineken, or even runner-up. Where two guys score over 135 and lose. Where the Starling leader scores 171 and his lead shrinks.

Markinson

And the kind where a two-year-old scoring record goes down! Hubert's 174.76 gets wiped off the books by Jason's 184.50. His top five starters score 156.3, while his bottom five score 28.2, including zero from his kicker (who played in a 59-point game). Scott puts up 136 points but loses by almost 50, keeping him in last place. Their 320.4 combined points is the highest scoring matchup ever, in any league. All the more surprising given that Jason and Scott were the two lowest scorers in the league coming into this week.

Eddy beats Hubert by 5 despite getting -0.50 points from his D and RB2 combined. The win moves him back into first place and prevents Hubert from moving into second.

Gina drops to second after losing to Amer by 28. Amer is now the league's leading scorer (Gina is second) but is still only in sixth place, 3 games back of Eddy.

Drew moves back up to third despite scoring only 87 points. But it is enough to win by 7 over Lisa, the only one he could have beaten this week. He'll need to do better to beat first place Eddy next week.

Montoya

Hubert stays in first and extends his points lead with a massive 175.78, good enough to beat Lisa by 64. It's his 14th career Heineken, 10th in Montoya.

Jeremy scores 138 points but loses to me by 10. The win leapfrogs me past him into third place. It doesn't get easier for Jeremy next week, when he faces Hubert.

Andrew stays in second with a solid 21-point win over Scott, who continues to struggle. Blame it on alcohol?

Dan moves up to fifth with his 22-point win over Gina, keeping him in the thick of the hunt for his first Markinson bid. At 1-5, Gina may need to win Markinson to get back next year.

Dufresne

Dean earns his 21st career Heineken, just one behind Scott for the all time lead. His 171 points is enough for an 83-point win over Drew, keeping him in second place, but his Starling lead over Hubert unbelievably shrinks to just 4 points. No one else is all that close, though Nalu is lurking in third, 77 points back.

Nalu's in back of no one in the standings, putting up 150 to maintain first place and secure a dominant 43-point win over Amer. His active win streak is now at 5, within 1 of Amer's record 6 straight wins spanning the '07 and '08 seasons. Matching the record won't be easy as he and Dean battle for first place and more next week.

Jason's 159.90 point total wasn't quite enough for him to double-fist the Heinekens, but it was good for a 50-point win over Russell, whose two-Heineken streak is over.

Steve falls to the bottom of the standings after losing to Eddy by 37. With the win, Eddy moves back into the all-important top four in the standings.

One more game left in the first half of the season, so finish it out strong!

League Page:

http://www.seahang.com/markinson.html

Week 5 Recap

2009-10-13T18:24:00.000-07:00

Markinson

Lisa picks up the Heineken and beats Amer by 23. Amer is falling from contention despite being just a couple tenths behind the point leader.

Gina remains in first after taking down Scott by 20.

Eddy keeps pace at the top with his 26-point win over Jason.

And Hubert squeaks past Drew by 4 to move into third. Hubert is just a game back but holds onto the league points lead.

Montoya

It hasn't been Scott's season, but he finally scores his first premier league win, and the Heineken to boot, beating Gina by 21. It's his record 22nd career Heineken!

Meanwhile, in the battle for first, Hubert and Andrew score a combined 148 points, with Hubert coming out on top by 23. Bizarro Montoya!

Lisa handles me easily by 29, and the two of us are now in the middle of the pack battling for a spot in Markinson.

Jeremy is up to third after beating Dan by 6.

Dufresne

Don't look now, but Russell has won his second straight Heineken, taking out Eddy by 17. Russell is now in third place and sniffing his first Markinson bid!

Nalu stays on top with a solid 37-point win over Steve, who got hurt by some late inactives but wouldn't have made up the difference anyway.

In an epic battle between the two Dufresne heavyweights, Dean and Jason combine for 142 measly points, with Dean eeking out a 2-point win to stay in second place. Jason looked to be in great shape, trailing by 2 with a tight end left to play on MNF, but Keller gets shut out to leave Jason in agony. Despite the 72-point outing, Dean maintains his Starling lead, by 8 points over Hubert. He also gets karmic retribution for his week-one loss.

In another tight matchup, Drew beats Amer by 8. With that win, the bottom five teams are all tied for the all-important fourth place.

League Page:

http://www.seahang.com/markinson.html

Julius de la Berg: An Appreciation

2009-10-06T19:02:00.000-07:00

After this week's games, Hubert's rankings in the career wins and points categories:

Overall wins: 1
Overall points: 1
Markinson wins: 2
Markinson points: 1
Premier League wins: 1
Premier League points: 2
Playoff wins: 1

He is on pace to be #1 in all of these categories by the end of the season.

Hubert has 3 Heinekens this season. Seven more would tie him with Scott for the most in a single season, and the way he is scoring in both leagues, it's not at all out of the question. He just missed out on a fourth this week by 2 points.

Hubert's high scoring in both leagues has him on pace for 3490.76 points combined. The record for a season is held by Jason with 3478.98.

For all his high-level consistency, Hubert has yet to win a league title. He sure dominates the playoffs though. :)

Week 4 Recap

2009-10-06T17:46:00.000-07:00

Markinson

Hubert notches another Heineken to beat Jason by 15. Hubert is now the leading scorer in the league, but for now it's only good enough for 4th place. In four weeks, Hubert has won two Heinekens and lost to the other two.

Gina slams Eddy by 53 to hand him his first loss and take his spot in first place!

Drew keeps pace with Gina and Eddy with his 34-point takedown of Amer, whose quest to repeat is now looking shaky. He sits in 6th despite the 2nd-highest point total.

In the battle at the bottom, Lisa takes down Scott by 36 to notch her first Markinson win of the season.

Montoya

In the battle of undefeateds, Andrew doubles my score and takes the Heineken. He also takes sole possession of first place and is the only undefeated team in any of the three leagues!

His perfect record is on the line next week against 2nd-place Hubert, who comes just two points short of double-fisting the Heinekens in beating Gina by 27.

Jeremy moves back into the all-important top four after dominating Lisa by 42.

And Scott is still looking for his first win after falling to Dan by 10. Dan has two wins in a row and is lurking in contention despite the lowest point total thus far.

Dufresne

What a turn of events! First place Dean loses to last place Russell, who grabs his second career Heineken! Like Hubert in Markinson, Dean has won two Heinekens and lost to the other two.

Nalu moves into first place for the first time in his career after eeking out a 1-point win over Eddy. Nalu is the only one in the balanced league to manage 3 wins.

Watch out for Steve, who wins his second in a row, by 14 over Drew to move into 3rd place. That week one loss by 0.38 looms large.

Jason beats Amer by 11 to even his record and move back into the crowded middle.

Predictions

I think Andrew got sick of me embarrassing him, so he has given up on making predictions all together. Hubert should have done the same, going 0-3 this week. He is now 6-6 on the year.

Yahoo went 2-2 in Montoya (11-5 for the season), and is 31-17 overall.

Finally, a record book note, with Dean's loss and Hubert's two wins, Hubert is now the all-time leader in wins! I have a feeling it's a title he'll be holding onto for a while.

Week 3 Recap

2009-09-28T21:29:00.000-07:00

Markinson

Gina earns her first career Heineken! Hubert loses to her by 40 despite posting the third-highest score of the week. Through the first three weeks, Hubert's opponents have scored an average of 145 points(!) and earned two Heinekens, so it's impressive that he even has one win. Gina's win moves her into second place.

Scott gets his first win of the season in either league, taking down Amer by 30 points. Amer still has the league's highest point total but only one win to show for it.

Eddy squeaks by Lisa by 2.5 points to remain undefeated and in first place. Lisa started a late scratch at WR, which seemingly cost her the win, but her lone bench WR scored only 1.2 points, so maybe not. Eddy is now the only one in the league without a loss.

That's because Drew falls just 1 point shy of Jason, getting completely screwed by Gore's opening-drive injury. Jason says he knows people on the Vikings, and luck had nothing to do with it... Too bad there are no points for trash talk, or Drew would have won easily!

Hmm, there should be points for trash talk.

One versus two next week as Eddy and Gina face off!

Montoya

Hubert earns another Heineken this week, beating Scott by 47 points. The loss drops Scott into last place, an unusual vantage point for the Montoya powerhouse. Hubert moves back into his customary spot in the top three and has the league's highest point total.

I remain undefeated and in first place after beating, er, defeating my wife.

Andrew also remains undefeated after taking down Jeremy by 40, and the two undefeateds will face off next week in a battle for supremacy! Jeremy started a legitimate lineup and somehow ended up with only 63 points. Just a bad week.

This just isn't Lisa's week. She started an inactive RB, and this time her mistake definitely cost her the win. She goes down to Dan by 2 points, allowing him to collect his first win of the season.

Dufresne

Dean easily earns his second straight Heineken and crushes Amer by 44 points, handing Amer his first loss and moving Dean into his rightful spot in first place. He also leads the race for Starling by 75 points over Hubert.

Eddy also takes his first loss, falling to Drew by 23 in Drew's first win. Eddy posts a 71-point turd following two high-scoring weeks.

Nalu pulls out the win over Russell by 2 points to move into second place! After a tough first season in which he lost Tom Brady in the opener (I feel your pain) and finished 7th, it looks as though he's ready to see what Markinson is all about.

Speaking of tough first seasons, Steve has already experienced the agony of the 0.38-point loss, and the helplessness of losing to Heineken, but for the first time in his brief Dufresne career, he enjoys the thrill of victory, dropping Jason by 9 points. In ten years, Jason will be the answer to a trivia question. Congrats, Steve!

Predictions

For karmic purposes, Hubert always votes against himself, and Andrew always votes against himself, so in fairness, I will remove those games from their records. Hubert went 2-1 this week, Andrew 0-3. For the season, Hubert is 6-3, Andrew 4-5.

Yahoo went 4-0 in Montoya this week. Andrew, stop picking against Yahoo! In all leagues, Yahoo is now 24-12 on the season. If Yahoo likes you, chances are you're gonna win!

Interesting Monday Night

2009-09-27T23:51:00.000-07:00

A lot of games riding on MNF!

In Markinson, the two undefeated teams are in dogfights. Jason needs DeAngelo Williams to outscore Patrick Crayton by 0.4 to pass Drew (Yahoo projects that Jason wins handily). Eddy needs Tony Romo to outscore Steve Smith by 6.05 to pass Lisa (Yahoo says flip a coin).

Lisa is also in a close one in Montoya. She needs 9.5 points from Roy Williams to pass Dan (Yahoo says you'll regret starting Westbrook this week).

In Dufresne, Steve needs Jason Witten and Felix Jones to combine for 11.9 points to pass Jason (Yahoo says congrats on your first career win). Nalu needs 5.1 points from DeAngelo Williams to pass Russell (Yahoo says if DeAngelo can't score 6 points, you don't deserve to win anyway).

Good luck!

Record Book

2009-09-22T10:08:00.000-07:00

Some raw stats you won't find in the Record Book:

Career Overall Wins
55 Dean
54 Hubert
46 Scott
45 Jason
42 Chang
34 Amer
31 Jeremy
30 Lisa
29 Eddy
28 Drew
26 Andrew
21 Dan
17 Gina
16 Russell
7 Nalu
0 Steve

Career Overall Points
8503.54 Scott
8365.74 Hubert
8365.14 Dean
8225.34 Jason
7656.62 Chang
6220.36 Lisa
6130.84 Jeremy
5271.94 Amer
4560.34 Eddy
4532.64 Gina
4502.50 Andrew
4500.90 Drew
4387.10 Dan
4152.74 Russell
1553.24 Nalu
203.86 Steve

Career Overall PPG
116.18 Dean
114.91 Scott
114.61 Amer
113.05 Hubert
111.15 Jason
106.34 Chang
105.70 Jeremy
103.67 Lisa
102.33 Andrew
101.93 Steve
99.71 Dan
99.14 Eddy
98.54 Gina
97.85 Drew
97.08 Nalu
94.38 Russell

Career Overall Heinekens
21 Scott
19 Dean
11 Hubert
10 Jason
9 Amer
9 Jeremy
8 Chang
7 Eddy
4 Lisa
3 Andrew
2 Dan
2 Drew
2 Nalu
1 Russell
0 Gina
0 Steve

Career Premier League Wins
31 Scott
30 Dean
29 Hubert
23 Drew
23 Jason
22 Lisa
21 Andrew
21 Chang
21 Eddy
21 Jeremy
18 Amer
18 Dan
15 Russell
13 Gina
6 Nalu
0 Steve

Career Premier League Points
5430.78 Scott
5116.34 Hubert
5089.04 Dean
4955.80 Jason
4700.42 Lisa
4673.16 Jeremy
4614.90 Chang
4502.50 Andrew
4387.10 Dan
4349.38 Gina
4296.74 Eddy
4271.18 Drew
4152.74 Russell
3445.32 Amer
1553.24 Nalu
203.86 Steve

Career Premier League PPG
123.43 Scott
116.28 Hubert
115.66 Dean
114.84 Amer
112.63 Jason
106.83 Lisa
106.21 Jeremy
104.88 Chang
102.33 Andrew
101.93 Steve
99.71 Dan
98.85 Gina
97.65 Eddy
97.08 Nalu
97.07 Drew
94.38 Russell

Career Premier League Heinekens
18 Scott
13 Dean
8 Hubert
7 Eddy
7 Jason
7 Jeremy
4 Lisa
3 Amer
3 Andrew
2 Chang
2 Dan
2 Drew
2 Nalu
1 Russell
0 Gina
0 Steve

Week 2 Recap

2009-09-21T21:41:00.000-07:00

Markinson

Hubert rebounds from last week's biggest beatdown to lay down one of his own, a 52-point whooping on Lisa. Lisa scores a respectable 106, but it's no match for Hubert's 11th career Heineken.

In the early battle for first place, Eddy comes through with an 8-point win over the defending champ, boosted by 57 points from his wide receivers. Amer still retains the top point total but drops to third in the standings.

That's because Drew matches Eddy at 2-0 after a big 40-point win over Scott, despite getting -1 points combined from his D and top WR. Perhaps you should consider benching those positions next week, Drew?

Montoya gets its first win over Dufresne this season, courtesy of Gina's 24-point win over Jason in a matchup of the week's two lowest scorers. Jason has Brady, Moss, and Welker, so when they get shut down, so does Jason. It doesn't help that Welker unexpectedly sat out.

Montoya

Scott scores the week's second-highest total but loses to me by 3. My 8th career Heineken helps me move into first place. I now have two wins by a combined 5 points.

Andrew also moves to 2-0, also with a 3-point win. A bad call by the refs cost Lisa's D a touchdown and 6 fantasy points, and maybe the win.

Gina notches her first win by 22 points, getting three times as many points from Chris Johnson as Jeremy does from his three RBs combined.

Hubert also gets his first win, taking Dan down by 21. He is now sixth in the league in point total but just 14 points behind the leader. Parity reigns!

Dufresne

Dean's luck is so bad he decides to leave nothing to chance this week, scoring his 19th career Heineken (just two behind Scott) to smack down rookie Steve by 45 and move into third place. He also moves into first place in the race for Starling, leading Eddy by 20, followed by Nalu, Drew, and finally someone from Montoya, me.

Eddy holds down first place (tops in both leagues!), doubling up Jason 120-63. As in Markinson, Jason has Brady, Moss, and Welker. Next time they play the Jets, I recommend a lineup change!

In an epic matchup, Nalu squeaks by Drew 145-143. Drew gets 75 points from his three RBs, 30 points from his 3 WRs, 20 from his QB, and he LOSES? Nalu's TE, K, and D outscore Drew's 39-18.

Amer keeps pace with Eddy in the standings by taking down Russell by 30, despite getting just 6 points from his 3 WRs. More precisely, he gets 6 points from one of his WRs, and 0 points from the other two.

Predictions

Every week, Hubert and Andrew make predictions on each Montoya game. I am going to track their records here. After two weeks, Hubert is 5-3, Andrew 4-4. You're a monkey, Andrew, a flip of the coin!

For those of you wondering how good those Yahoo projections are, they are 5-3 in Montoya, 16-8 in all three leagues combined. Not too shabby!

Week 1 Recap

2009-09-14T22:37:00.000-07:00

Markinson

The reigning champ makes a statement! Amer whacks Hubert by 80(!), and in doing so comes up less than a point short of breaking the Markinson single-game scoring record of 174.76, posted in 2007 by... Hubert. Still more than enough for Amer to score the first Heineken of the season.

Eddy also posts a huge victory in his Markinson debut, crushing Scott by 70.

Jason joins the blowout party, smoking Lisa by 55.

And Drew completes Dufresne's week-one sweep of Montoya with a 4-point win over Gina. C'mon, Montoya, represent! Collectively, Dufresne outscored Montoya by 210 points!

Hmm, on second thought, I don't want anyone from Montoya snagging an automatic bid. Go Dufresne!

Montoya

From first to worst... to first again? After last season's washout, Whoosh is back in a big way, scoring the Heineken in a solid 30-point win over Fantasia Orins.

But reigning champ Collateral Estoppel isn't giving up her crown so easily. She posts a 35-point win of her own over Da Big G to kickstart her title defense.

Andrew takes out Dan by 22 in a battle between the two Montoya managers still looking for their first Markinson bids. Andrew's quest is off to a solid start.

In the only tight matchup, I eek out a 2-point win over Hubert, with both of us sweating out the end of the Chargers/Raiders game. The Raiders' late score provides me with enough cushion to withstand the Chargers' game-ending INT. More on that later.

Dufresne

Picking up right where he left off, reigning champ Eddy scores another Heineken, after collecting a six-pack last season. Eddy also takes the early lead in defending his Starling Cup.

Also picking up where he left off, Dean posts the second-highest score of the week and loses by 10. If luck evens out over time, Dean is still waiting for evidence. It's pretty tough to lose when you get 48 points from one guy.

Meanwhile, Russell posts the second-lowest score of the week and wins by 5 over Drew. These are the kinds of wins Drew specialized in last season to finish second despite having the second-lowest point total. Now it's Russell's turn!

Jason picks up a solid 20-point win over Nalu, largely thanks to an impotent showing by Tsunami's wide receivers. 9.90 points combined? Yikes.

Back to the end of that Chargers/Raiders game. Steve is down 0.38 points to Amer, with Chargers D and LT still active. The Raiders' late score drops Steve behind by 2.38, but now LT will certainly come out and help the Chargers on their final drive, right? Instead, Sproles gets ALL the playing time, meaning the Chargers' game-ending INT still leaves Steve 0.38 points short of Amer. Welcome to the league, Steve.

Pre-Draft Trade Announcement

2009-08-29T16:41:00.000-07:00

In Montoya Premier League, Andrew has traded Proper Villains' first- and fifth-round picks (6th and 38th overall) to Chang for FC Hang's second- and fourth-round picks (12th and 28th overall).

Pundits are split on who got the better end of this deal. Some contend that the team that gets the best player (in this case FC Hang) is always the winner, but others argue that Proper Villains' net gain in draft position gives it the edge. It will be interesting to see what the trade looks like post-draft, when we are looking at names instead of numbers. But at this time it's hard to question any move made by Chang, a proven champion. One can easily imagine him waving his fingers in front of Andrew's face and performing a Jedi mind trick on the weak-minded fool. These are not the picks you're looking for.

Montoya managers, this trade has been reflected in the draft order, so don't be confused on draft night. It's not a bug, it's a feature.

Too Bad Our League Is Free

2009-08-27T15:07:00.001-07:00

If we had an entry fee, you could purchase insurance on it.