Wane McGarity Championship Results: A New Champion Is Crowned

It's funny when people make the title game how initially everyone says they are "just happy to make it" and on it's face value it sounds logical. Making the title game alone guarantees you a cash prize, and in this year's case, you triple your money, so knowing even if you lose you're still going to go home with $300 certainly softens the blow of a loss..that's the mentality for most...until the games start going on. Then, the competitive juices kick in. Every lineup decision is sweated. "Did I play the right guy?" "I hope he doesn't get hurt" "WHY AREN'T THEY USING HIM IN THIS SITUATION?".  You see, money can buy a lot of things, but it can't buy the label "Champion". It's gotta be earned. Not only does it get you an extra $500, which of course isn't a bad incentive to care, but you get that glorious title of "Champion" which to me is priceless. That's why despite the guaranteed loser's purse, those that have lost in the championship round feel like they lost it all and gained nothing sometimes. All that preparation all year, all the smart moves, trades to get the championship only to fall short. Considering how fickle and unpredictable Fantasy Football is, no one ever knows when's the next time you'll be back in this situation. Look at Drew for instance, Finals in 2010 and not even a 2nd round appearance sense. It's been 3 years counting for me, including to shitty finishes of 12th and 11th since I've won the big one. Matt? Two years since he's been in the playoffs. Albert? He made the first three Finals and hasn't been back since. You just never know and you want to make the most of it. You want to seize the opportunity because the journey is hard and difficult. So yes, the losing hurts just as bad..weather you get $300 or nothing...it feels the exact same way. So who came away with the 2016 Wane McGarity Bowl Championship this year? Well...without further ado...

SCLSU MudDogs (10-6)              101.66

Hoosier Daddy (12-3)                    96.76

HO-LEEEEEEEEE CRAPPPPP. WHAT A MATCHUP. Definitely up there with the Matt-Mayra classic from two years ago. I couldn't be more right in my prediction that this was going to be a hard fought and super close matchup and boy was it. So where to begin? Well...let's start from the beginning, which was Saturday early afternoon, when Alex had 3 guys going (Bilal Powell, Julian Edelman, and Delanie Walker) against Ryan's 1 (Greg Olsen). Honestly..it was pretty slow start for Alex and Bilal Powell was very disappointing with only 8.4 points, and Delanie Walker scored a TD (very late into the game, it was really looking like Walker was going to get blanked) but only had 23 yards receiving, and Julian Edelman did OK with 5 catches for 89 yards, but with the Patriots beating the crap out of the Jets, it was a bit disappointing Edelman wasn't the beneficiary of one of the many TD's scored. Luckily for Alex, Greg Olsen didn't do much for Ryan as he had 6 catches for 59 yards. So it was pretty much an early Saturday afternoon wash, and what happened next would end up having MAJOR consequences in the overall finish of this matchup. So, remember in my Playoff Preview when it said a concern on Ryan's was going to be who to chose between Kenny Britt and Steve Smith? Britt's had a remarkable season this year considering the team he plays for and has bailed out Ryan on more than one occasion during the regular season, but Steve Smith..isn't bad either. The fact is though, he really hasn't had a "wow" game since Week 11, and had scored under double digits 3 out of the last 3 games.  Britt, on the other hand had scored double digits in 5 out of the last 7 games and was playing the crappy 49ers defense. Ryan had Steve Smith in his lineup alllllll week before making a crucial lineup change. He decided to go with Britt and subbed him in right before the 3:00 Saturday games. Britt got hurt early in the game, but stayed in...until the 3rd quarter where he aggrevated the shoulder injury he had suffered earlier in the game and he never came back. He finished with 1 catch for 15 yards...a HUGE blow to Ryan's chances at winning. Along with that play, for the 2nd straight week, Thomas Rawls was flat out AWFUL. What a disappointment he ended up being after being thought to be a boast to Ryan's team. He didn't even finish with a point and didn't play the 2nd half as he got hurt with a shoulder injury. It's easy to play armchair quarterback now, but Ryan's other RB options were Tevin Coleman and Jacquizz Rodgers. Coleman had a tough matchup as well against the Panthers, but finished with 19.40 Points, and Jacquizz Rodgers ended up starting for Doug Martin, who was a healthy scratch, and had 14.80 points. Ryan left a TON of points on his bench and naturally the "what if's" start creeping in his mind. It is what it is though and luckily for him, Mark Ingram, who's so unpredictable, had one of his best games of the season with  with 90 yards and 2 TD's. This was HUGE for Ryan, and kept his chances of winning alive after the Britt/Rawls fiasco. Michael Crabtree looked like he was on his way to a nice game, but kind of stalled after catching 7 passes for 90 yards. He briefly left with an injury but he only missed one series, he was just a non factor in the 2nd half so although 12.5 isn't too bad, it could've been a lot better game from him. Despite all this, it's not like Alex's guys were entirely taking advantage of Ryan's misfortune. As bad as Ryan's guys were performing, Alex had an opportunity to blow this game up, but his guys just couldn't take advantage. Drew Brees was pretty disappointing with only 1 TD pass (and it didn't help that Ryan had Mark Ingram, who took two TD's away). Larry Fitzgerald predictably had a bad game against the Seahawks defense, and though Carlos Hyde scored early, he did nothing of note afterwards, and actually ended up getting hurt himself and finished with only 11 points. Tavon Austin added a TD, but the yardage wasn't there and he too had 11 points. At the end of  Saturday, this matchup was still up in the air, as both guys had scoring problems and we were now down to a 3-1 for Sunday/Monday night..with Ryan having Big Ben/Demaryius Thomas on Sunday against Le'Veon Bell for Alex on Sunday. I actually believed at that point, the advantage belonged to Ryan as I felt after all the Saturday plays, and to still have 3 pretty good plays, he was in good shape...of course Alex had Le'veon Bell so it's not like he's a bum or anything. So the Steelers/Ravens game was the first game Christmas Day and at first it was a slow start for both Ben and Bell. Both guys though delivered BIG TIME, and the last two TD's scored by the Steelers had all the drama and intrigue you could ask for. First Ben finally threw his 2nd TD of the game...BUT TO LE'VEON BELL. Man...for Ryan..what a bittersweet moment as he needed the Big Ben points, but because it was too Bell, it not only cancelled it out, but Bell actually netted at least 1.5 points from the TD. Thinking that was it for Ben, Ryan was feeling pretty deflated, but the Steelers ended up marching down the field for a game winning drive, all passing and NONE OF IT TO BELL, before Ben threw a Game Winning TD to Antonio Brown. JUST what Ryan needed. Ben ended up with 279 yards, 3 TD's and a couple picks and 23.06 points, while Le'Veon Bell once again came up CLUTCH with 137 total yards and 2 TD's. Again, the reason why Alex took a gamble on him. He's been a savior this playoff run and he did it ONCE AGAIN. Oh and a sidenote...remember the Steve Smith benching? Because it's fantasy football, Steve Smith went OFF with 79 yards, a TD, and a two point conversion. 19.4 points...a 17.4 difference from Britt. SOOOOO critical and just like Albert from the week before, it just shows you how important lineup decisions are when the stakes are high. This matchup would've basically over had Ryan stayed the course. Despite that miscue Ryan was only 30.5 points with two guys to go, Zeke and Demaryius Thomas. That's basically 16 points a player which with these two guys is entirely doable, especially Zeke and Alex's guys were done playing. If he were to win, 101.66 points would have to do the trick. Unfortunately, the Broncos were TERRIBLE Sunday Night, especially the offense, and Demaryius Thomas was held to 3 catches for 20 yards and 3.5 points. SUCH....A....KILLER. It was all but over for Ryan. All he had was Zeke left. Ezekiel Elliott. His #2 pick who carried him to the championship. Ryan was down 26.6 points. Last Week, Zeke came though with 26.3 points...could he do it AGAIN?? Well, there was worries going into this game that because Dallas had already wrapped up the division, #1 seed and home field so they had nothing to play for really. Although Jason Garrett had promised that the starters would play a full compliment of snaps, it was still a worry that if the game got out of hand either way, the starters would be pulled. So it came down to last night..down 26.6 points..would Zeke be able to do the impossible? Ryan decided to stop by and watch the game here, and he sat in the same place on the couch that he did when he watched the games with us last week! Anything to hope bring back the magic he got against Albert. Right away in the 2nd drive of the game....Zeke scored on a 55 YARD RUN! Just like that BOOM 11.5 points. We officially had a game. Alex was texting me, getting a little nervous and Ryan was at my house nervous as hell. It was insane. We were going to literally come down to the wire. Every Cowboys score was nerve wrecking for both guys. Dak ended up throwing an AMAZING TD pass to Dez Bryant before the half and Zeke didn't do much else at half, but still had over 14 points and was only about another 14 more to clinch the win. In the 2nd half though, again, with over 10 minutes left...ZEKE SCORED AGAIN, this time a 1 yard TD. Things were getting REAL. Unfortunately it also looked like Darren McFadden was getting involved a little more than usual as the game was getting out of hand. The Cowboys had one more drive going in the 3rd, and Zeke was in and they got all the way to the 9 yard line. It looked like it could be Zeke territory and at this time Ryan was down 4.9 points, a TD seals the deal and more than likely this was the last drive for Zeke as the game was a huge blowout. Unfortunately for Ryan (and lucky for Alex) the Cowboys on a trick play on which Dez threw a TD pass the Witten and that basically sealed Ryan's comeback bid. Zeke was done for the night and after a night of dramatics and watching a 26.6 point lead wash away to under 5 points, Alex had survived the comeback and when the clock hit 0:00...it was official...ALEX KRONBERGER HAD BECOME THE 2016 WANE MCGARITY BOWL CHAMPION. WHAT...A...GAME. Wow...just an amazing performance from both teams and the big guns (Zeke and Bell) both came up as big as big can be. What a journey for Alex, who in his 3rd season has made it to the pinnacle of the league. It took a lot of guts to NOT KEEP ANYONE and start fresh and even more guts to take a guy with a 3 game suspension with the 4th overall pick but boy...did it pay off in spades! Not only was Bell was amazing, but when it really mattered, in the playoffs, he MORE THAN CAME UP HUGE and without a shadow of a doubt Le'Veon Bell is this year's Wane McGarity Bowl Championship MVP. The drafting of bell not only rewarded Alex with a championship, but Alex told me in all the years he's played this game, this is his first championship in Fantasy Football! How sweet it is!! You what makes Alex's story great? His team was ultimate proof that you can win a championship and not have the most stacked roster in the league. If anyone was at a theoretical disadvantage it was him. He kept noone, while the rest of us kept 2 players a piece and a lot of us kept great players at high rounds. He didn't let that deter him. He did he had to do, he didn't give up hope, he made smart draft picks, smart waiver wire picks, and played the game and he won. He didn't have a David Johnson 14th round keep, hell he didn't even have the #1 pick of the draft, he started from scratch and built a championship team. His playoff journey was amazing, he beat the #3, #2, and eventually #1 team on his way to a title. What a great job by Alex and this is a well deserved and well EARNED championship. Congratulations man, you earned it!! For Ryan...damn man...it was a hell of a season. Ryan too did a great job drafting, making waiver moves and trades to construct a team that pretty much dominated all season finishing with the 2nd best record in league history. He's got a once in a lifetime talent in Zeke Elliott, and there's no doubt he's keeping him next year. He was able to beat a truly stacked team in Albert to get to the championship and if not for a critical last second lineup change, it would be Ryan hoisting the proverbial trophy. I know finishing 2nd place sucks, especially when Ryan was pretty much 1st all season, but it's still an accomplishment to get to the championship game and it's nothing to hang your head down about. Hell, I was the #1 seed last season and I didn't even place! In fact, that streak continued, as still no #1 seed has ever won it all for 7 straight years. This is the 2nd time a 6th seed has won. So for Ryan, it was still a super successful season and although it hurts to lose, hopefully that $300 in your pocket makes it a little better! All in all, the championship match delivered and puts a final cap on what was another successful (albeit frustrating for me, lol) season. And yes...all my talk about this being the "final year" was just that....talk. I'm not shutting the league down (though I'm not going to lie, I seriously thought about it). I think we have a solid group of teams and I'd hate to break it up just because I'm a super sore loser. I usually vent and get over it..so as long as you don't mind seeing works like dickfuck, shitassfuck, etc from time to time next year, we'll be back next season for year 8 where Alex goes from being the hunter to the HUNTED as he'll look to defend his newly won title. But that's something he can worry about a year from now. For today and into the new year Alex Kronberger is the Reigning and Defending Wane McGarity Bowl Champion. Champion...a title that can be never taken away. Once it's earned..it's earned forever and now Alex is part of that exclusive club.

Wane McGarity Bowl MVP

Le'Veon Bell (SCLSU MudDogs)

122 Rushing Yards, 2 Rushing TD's, 3 Receptions, 15 Receiving Yards, 27.20 Points

 

 Other League News: Albert's really kicking himself for that Ty Montgomery/Doug Martin Fiasco as he would've easily beaten Alex for his 3rd title had they played in the championship round. Instead, he'll have to settled for a 3rd place finish as he easily dispatched Eugene's team who was looking for his 3rd straight 3rd place finish himself. Hey, at least Albert got his money back and this is the 4th time he's placed in our league, which is the most of everyone. Dad's fairy tale run in the consolation bowl came to a screeching halt as Leland absolutely destroyed him and now Leland gets the right to pick where he wants to draft. This could definitely be the key in Leland getting back into the championship picture next year after a super disappointing 2016. And in the super irrelevant 9th place game, Matt beat Mark in one of those "why do my guys have to do awesome when there is nothing to play for" games. 

I'll start posting Year End Awards tomorrow, starting with a new award I came up with...the Wane McGarity Hall Of Fame which highlights players who were big time players in our silly game of make believe. So here are the official final standings of the 2016 season.

Champion-SCLSU MudDogs (Alex)
2nd Place-Hoosier Daddy (Ryan)
3rd Place-Channel 3 News Team (Albert)
4th Place-Rocket Man (Eugene)
5th Place-Bigger Balls (Mayra)
6th Place-Woe Is You (Mike)
7th Place-No Soup For You (Leland)
8th Place-BigBadBob (Dad)
9th Place-Light's Broken Bots (Matt)
10th Place-Shock The Monkey (Mark)
11th Place-Bay Area Tanners (Me)
12th Place-THE SPOILER (Drew)