Finally, after a year delay the Olympics are back (ed’s note: it’s so great to, as a nation, just be throwing away money on useless stuff again!). I used to be a huge fan of them growing up, but now I have grown up and learned that they are all crap. The Olympics used to mean something (ed’s note: false), it was for amateur athletes to showcase their talents in front of the world. Professional athletes making millions a year are ruining it for the rest of the competitors. I know you want to see the best of the best, but get the pros out. This year they aren’t allowed to have fans due to Covid (ed’s note: truly, dark times). I just can’t understand having them when the host country is still having large outbreaks in some of the cities where the events are being held.
I used to enjoy the swimming and track events, but now I have moved on and all I want to see are real sports like 7s in rugby and water polo where players are getting hit. Both games are fast paced and very enjoyable to watch if you know the game.
This year they have added street skateboarding and if I’m correct next Olympics or world Championship they will be adding Flag Football. You might not have been able to make it to the NFL or even CFL, but you might be able to represent your country playing the game we all love. I’m sure that you all know that it’s one big orgy at the games and that tens of thousands of condoms have been given to the athletes so that they can stay safe, but have you seen those cardboard beds they are expected to sleep on (ed’s note: where are you going with this?!?). I’m just wondering are we going to have more athletes pull up with muscles being torn or more athletes getting hurt with their beds collapsing.
Week 9 recap
Division 1
Centurions vs Bitter Boys (19-0)
This had to be one of the worst Division 1 games in a long time. Both QBs were missing wide open players and then when they did manage to get the balls to their players, more often than not the receiver dropped it. With the win, Centurions are almost guaranteed a spot in the playoffs. Mario and Bitter Boys know they have nothing to play for, but to have fun. I know everyone thinks Bitter Boys are rough, but in most games that I’ve seen them play they have been fine. Bitter Boys are guys that have either played tackle or at least coached it and a little contact from them and the other team starts to freak out. I get it we play flag and we have no contact, but stop flopping, this isn’t soccer. On Samuel’s first score it was a short little drag left when he caught it and he turned straight up along the sideline and scored. He thought he was flagged and I had to let him know if he was going jog it in from midfield and not full sprint, then I’d have to flag him for showboating next time he got the ball. This was hard to watch as not a lot was happening other than the drops and bad passes. Moving forward, Centurions will have to play better than this if they want to win. I think since Mario and JS hung around drinking after their game this week that next week they should take a shot for every dropped pass and missed tackle and see how long it takes for one of them to hit the floor first.
Ninja Turtles vs Moretti Crime Family (37-48)
This was a game that everyone on the panel saw Ninja Turtles winning. I wish that I had seen this game as it was all offense. There were almost 500 yards passing to go along with 13 TDs. You would think that with both teams being so loaded with talent that the offense would have been slowed down, but since flag is all about putting up points, that’s what we got here. I don’t understand how no one has figured out how to stop Joey and his flood offense. You would have figured that one of the Pilon brothers would have shut it down. The player that shined the most to me in this game has to be Wade. From where he started the season to now you can see that he is taking what the defense gives him and doesn’t seem to force the bad throws that he used to. The teams have split the previous 2 games, so expect to see the deciding game in the playoffs.
Division 2
Longs Chefs vs OG Panthers (32-39)
OG are on a three game win streak after this win, but this one almost didn’t happen. OG jumped out to a huge lead by half and then tried to coast the rest of the way. Longs Chefs are a better team than everyone expects and since they made the change to Max at QB the team has been able to score and move the ball. Longs Chefs can still make the playoffs, but it would take winning out and some luck. Realistically it’s time for them to play spoiler and ruins someone else’s chance of getting in. A few weeks ago no one expected OG to be where they are right now and with the hardest part of the schedule coming up, it won’t take much for them to get into the playoffs, but if they want to be one of the favorites now is where they will have to show what they are made of.
RedZone vs Joey’s Haters (27-39)
RedZone were missing a few players, but got more than adequate subs in Carmine and Andrew. I know both of these guys and both are ballers. The only thing that was hard for them was the field size being smaller then what they are use to. Haters have been playing decent all year, but the last few weeks Max has begun to look like his old self making the rusher miss, scrambling and even running when it’s open. Haters are all but in the playoffs, unless they completely fall apart the last few games. This was a tough weekend for RedZone with the two losses and they almost need to win out and I can’t see that happening. Going 2-1 over there last 3 might get them in, but they would need help in that case.
Division 3
Nice TDs vs Deep Threats (13-25)
I was there for this one and all I can remember is Kris not being in a good mood, Andrew keeping his mouth shut as well as limping around, and that Deep Threats were just too strong for Nice TDs, especially when they were dropping very catchable balls. The big thing that stands out is the argument between Kris and Brian. Kris wants everyone to be perfect, but that’s impossible. Yes, sometimes Kris is right to yell at his team, but most of the time he is wrong and this time he was right and wrong at the same time. He yelled at Brian for not catching a ball that was tipped and the ball changed where it was going. Brian could have still caught the ball, but Kris needs to calm the Picasso down and just play the game. Kris yelled and Brian stood his ground and yelled back and then took his stuff and walked off, he did return a few minutes later. These are the things you have to deal with when Kris is on your team when you are losing (ed’s note: and sometimes when you’re winning).
Les Tannantes vs Black Knights (31-39)
I missed this game, but was able to talk with a few players from both teams after the game. I had to find out what is going on with Les Tannantes and I got the response that would explain a lot. They have been missing players all season and have only played two games with their full roster. From Black Knights perspective, they are the better team and can beat everyone out there. Those are big words coming from Richie Rich and the unathletic bunch. No really, Black Knights have a bunch of solid players and should be able to keep up with most teams. I would have liked to have seen an extra minute or two of added time in this game like soccer to see if Les Tannantes could have punched it in and tied up the game. We don’t play soccer, so no added time. Black Knights will have their hands full the rest of the season as will Les Tannantes. If there is a rematch it would be in the playoffs in the second or third round and I just don’t see that happening.
Division 4
AirBorne vs RawSauce (0-55)
What am I to say about this game? AirBorne were missing half their roster and were without their QB. This game got ugly fast and you have to feel bad for AirBorne. RawSauce did what they do and play a stifling defense and this week they figured out how to score. Last week I predicted RawSAuce to win I also figured that Antoine would get at least 5 sacks. He managed to get 3 plus he forced Simon who was acting like a QB to throw 4 picks and 2 more from Isaac. I hate blow outs and to me teams need to stop running up the score. Playoff tiebreaker is points against not for (ed’s note: this was shutout…).
Titans vs Les Bouchers (64-38)
102 points scored in this game and let me tell you it could have been more. The game wasn’t as close as the score makes it seem. I know it’s a 26 point difference, but at no point were Titans not in charge in this one. The play that stands out to me was last play of the half. Ben sends everyone deep from his 5 yard line, waits a little avoids the rush, starts to go left then decides he’ll go right, he then takes off running up the side line, cuts in runs all the way to the other side line, makes 3 guys miss, turns it up, makes another player miss, and has a 45 yard run on the last play of the half and wasn’t even breathing hard when he got back into the huddle. The league needs to add rules in that says that QBs that are under 5’6” are not allowed to run. You have Ben and Dom who both are unstoppable runners when they want to be.
Division 5
Gold Rush vs Les Last Calls (25-12)
Once again this was the Travis show. Travis Ran 1 in, threw 2, and returned a pick this week. Travis had to get in his stats now since this was his last game of the season. Who takes a vacation to Greece with their girlfriend during the season? I guess Travis does. I was hoping for a better performance from Les Last Calls in this game, but without Seb, their best player, it makes it tough to try and contain a dual threat QB like Travis. Les Last Calls will need a few wins and things to fall in their favor if they want to reach the post season. Gold Rush I think are locked in and it’s just a matter of where they will finish.
Spin Doctors vs Los Pollitos (52-26)
Another week without their QB and Samuel had to fill in again. Samuel is the best player on Los Pollitos and needs to be used as a weapon not a QB (ed’s note: QBs aren’t weapons?). For the first half of the game it was relatively close, then spin Doctors with all that experience started to pick apart the man defense and it was over after that. I think Spin Doctors are a good solid team, but near the end of the game what they were doing was really not cool. You know that Los Pollitos are very new and have little experience, so play straight up don’t run trick plays on converts or throw deep passes knowing that they can’t keep up. I hope this comes backs and bites you in the ass down the road. Raph you’re the team captain and the leader of the team, step up and stop this from happening.
That is it for my recap this week. I hope you enjoyed and teams please stop running up the score against your weaker opponents. Everyone is here to have fun and if winning and putting up tons of points is fun for you then don’t get upset when you end up in a division where you are the weak team and it happens to you.
Top Performances of the week
To get here you had to ball out and prove you earned your spot into the No Marvin Club. This week we had lots of good games along with a few blowouts. I hate to pick players from games that are lopsided, but sometimes I have no choice.
There has been some debate as to who the really player of the weeks are. I know Jon puts his picks up on the website and a lot of people seem to think that those players haven’t really earned it. I will tell you that when I make my picks I look at all the stats from all the games and sometimes it’s really close that I have to go in and look at the play by play to see when those players made the plays they did. For example player A has 3 picks and player B has 4 sacks both players could easily get my pick. I look and see that player A had 2 of his picks on last plays of the half and game and his team won by 9 points. To me those picks at the end of half are just toss ups and don’t really have an effect on the outcome. Player B makes his sacks on big third down plays and forces the other team to punt or go for it on fourth. I’d have to go with the rusher in this case. Same thing with the offense.
Now that I explained how I make my picks here they are.
Division 1
Offense
I really hate to do this, but this player is a real big asshole and had to ruin my streak of not putting him up here even after weeks of balling out. I think I have to put more blame on the rest of the division for not playing better, but this week I have to say Marvin Steinberg or as he is better known around the league as D4 Player of the Century (ed’s note: now D4 Player of the Epoch!) did enough to finally get my vote as player of the week with his 8 catches for 142 yards, 4 TDs and a 1point convert.
Defense
This player is also on the Outlaws, but is a much nicer guy then Marvin. Julien Proulx had to step up and take charge of the defense with Smuda not being there and he did that. Proulx had 2 tackles, 2 picks and took 1 back to the house for 6 points.
Division 2
Offense
Louis-Mathieu Dufour does it again folks. After tearing it up last week he did even better this time around. 6 grabs for only 82 yards and 4 TDs. The yards went down this week, but the TDs went up.
Defense
I really had a hard time picking this week’s winners. I had a few guys with very similar stats as well as a player that really stood out, but wasn’t eligible to win. Once I narrowed it down I came away with Kareem Anthony Chilcott. Kareem had 4 tackles, 2 picks and a pick 2. It all came down to the pick 2 that put him over the top.
Division 3
Offense
I came up with 3 players that really could have gotten it this week, but when all their stats were side by side it became an easy choice to make. This week Ignacio Valdes-Manzandes is the winner. Ignacio had 10 catches for 86 yards and 4 TDs.
Defense
I was so close to giving it to a different player then who I went with and I didn’t because that player didn’t need to be there to help his team win their game, I can’t say the same about my pick in Mauricio Toscano. Mauricio had 5 tackles, a sack, and a pick all in the same game. I’m not sure if you take Mauricio away this week if Iron Wolves don’t lose this game.
Division 4
Offense
I looked it all over and Thomas Gerin-Lajoie is my winner this week. Thomas had 6 catches for 73 yards and 3 TDs. Those are some solid numbers from a player whose brother is the QB and doesn’t want to share the love from the parents, so Felix limits the touches Thomas gets.
Defense
I stuck with the theme for this division and went with another player named Thomas, but this Thomas plays for Flamboyant Flamingos. Thomas Leclerc is my defensive pick this week. Thomas had 3 tackles to go along with his 2 picks.
Division 5
Two Way Player
With only 2 games being played instead of picking an offensive and defensive player I have elected to only pick 1 player who made an impact on both sides of the ball. The player that I sected was none other than Meliza Lafleur. She did it all this weeks. On offense Meliza had 4 catches for 79yards, 1 TD and a 1point convert. Meliza also made a play on defense as well, with an interception that she took back for 6 points.
That is it for my picks this week. You only have 3 weeks left to ball out and get my attention. I know that this is crunch time for some teams trying to secure a playoff spot, so that alone should push you to play better. At the beginning of the year I said let your play do all the talking for you and that is correct for my weekly awards. I also have a say in who gets the end of season awards, so for that you can send me a message and I’ll direct you to where you can send your bribes.
