Franchise League Winter 24 Preview

by Jason on Jan. 12, 2024

POWER RANKINGS

#8 Team Tucker - Mostly have them here because I have no knowledge of Tucker. I hearing he is 6"5 but reluctant to take over, I think this team will need that. They have legend @roberts so that can change any teams fortune , can he hang in this very tough league . I love Matty and Masone we know they can get buckets but can they gets stops on the other end ? Love the addition of 3pt threat with stull and Mulv but this league is crazy good and I see this team falling short as of now . Maybe when I get a look at Tucker they will change this ranking .

#7 The Corporation -  I don't want to be the one that jumps in on the Corp hate because I am a @Mr 63 and Hoh believer but man he did not have a great off season . No idea the on the rookie but very low PR. I actually love @BigLou16 and @wise.shawn but how the hell are they gonna make sense and find space on the court together . Can my coverage partner Skates improve and take this team to the next level , I will have to see it to believe it. Uphill climb for them.

6 Basket Cases - The champs are here !!! Well actually missing a very important piece in @mleblanc3 . @thundersnarfer will come and provide 3 pts shooting , and leadership but he's not the floor general Marc is. Will Euler be as effective with better defender more attention on him ? I've seen @KapVP bring mediocre teams to great heights , can he do it again ? @bkoller297 will have to go full nuclear mode for this team to be in the ship run , I do think J.mul will take some pressure off him , but I just don't see enough to put them over the top of these other teams right now .

5 Team Joel - How many vacations is @Get Shaffed going I will take the over on 2.5 which Vegas has set . This team is exciting , but could be volatile as they will have to work through bumping the rode . @Red Baron does great when things arnt going well , he doesn't get mad or scream at his team at all ...........can he handle the rough patches ? The defense does have me hot and bothered Joel / Keith will be a pleasure to watch on that end if they are clicking . I saw @Filip totally take over some games , shows this team has a high ceiling . @GTalbot makes his return and everyone is thrilled to see him back , not on the court but to see his face because this dudes a fucking baller , see how he gets back into the swing of things after the knee injury. Djordje was a steal and they needed his size which helped push them up this list . I do see volatility with this team , are the resilient enough to handle that , we shall see ?

#4 Team Harry "HARDING" - This team knows each other very well and that is a strong advantage, their cohesiveness should be on point . Can @Cawley24 put this team who struggled last session over the top ? My bet is yes , they will be a top team . They do have some weaknesses Walker @Da Point Gawd are not the swiftest of players so we shall see if teams attack this . If Cawley / Harding / Vladi have good shooting days these guys will be nearly impossible to beat , so def high potential for a ship but I could see the falling to the middle of the pack . 

#3 Super Hoopers -  At first glance I'm like this team is winning the ship . @e_rosie1 @mleblanc3 @woolly31 is an insane trio , like what the fuck but man they are very very small . Oully is going to have to defend Koller / Hollis / Ini /hoh "s of the franchise world and it's just not going to be easy .its not going to be easy defending them either tbh is is why I have them so high but man it's going to be fascinating to watch play out .

#2 For Whom The Ball Tolls - We back and better than ever !! We said good bye to two legends in @Slick and @thundersnarfer. We made it to the semies and only lost a the buzzer to the current champs and we added the best defensive player in the league in Ini and a beast monster in Robel. I think we have the best defensive team in the league and we have @dp Lerner flying around seems like a recipe for success here 

1 Top Heavy - Basketball is a funny sport usually the team with the best player wins , and @mhollis is easily the best player in this league . @STAT did a good job of putting a faces that Hollis already knew and knows how to play with . Would this team have lost if Hollis didn't miss the playoffs, I don't think so . I have them on top for now

Franchise League Week 1 Write-Ups

by Jason on Sep. 07, 2023

By CHAS BELLS & CHRIS STULL

Corp VS Top Heavy 

Big Lu got this party started with a nice cutting hoop, Ini added a floater Cop in control up 5-0. Hollins finds his spot and gets a post bucket, and then shows hustle getting an obrd put in 5-4. Ini scoop, Big lu steal and finish , Ini lay up of HOh dime it was 11-4. Rooki Lance Li looked very good as he knocked down a J, but Mazz $ a 3 14-6. Hoh nails a 3, Robel responds with a post hoop,Hollins high off the window, and then adds a scoop his footwork is crazy good in the paint 17-12. Ini has obrd fall in his lap, then Hoh gets another 3. Hollins from very deep, and Robel hits a nice rhythm 3, Then Lancenator nails a J for the lead 20-19. Hollins finds his spot, and gets 2, but Mazz ties things up with a big time 3 22 all. Hollins with a beastly and 1, then Lancenator 3, then Hollins 3 yikes what a run 31-22. Hoh with a gigantic 3, but Robel eats in the post 33-25. Mazz 3 “ youre gonan get hurt if you guard me like that”. Hoh adds to that with sick take, and then again! The half ended with Corp up 34-33. Very physical game. 

Mazz finds Hoh as that connection looks serious, but Robel responds with hook. Lance hits another J, but Mazz gets the elad back with a 3 39-37. Mazz obrd put in, then Ini in transition, then Ini floater. Lead would stay in the 10 pt range for while, but then Hollins turned on the switch again as he goes through 2 guys  making the lead just 51-47. Fatigue set in hard for Top Heavy as Corp starting to get easy bucket after easy bucket, Mazz, Hoh and Ini lead the boys to vicory in week 1. 66-48. 

GRADES

Corp

Mazz- A-Rock solid Mazz game. Hit big 3’s to swing things when he needed too. Loved his rebounding/effort level in this game. 
Ini-A- Unreal all over the court, did just about as good as job as anybody can expect against Hollins. If hes hitting that floater , this team might not get beat. 
Hohrath-A- Guys hes really good, and he and Mazz flow beautifully………..not great. 
Big Lu-B-) Started very strong but kinda faded off. Not a ton of shots. 
Stull-C+- defense was there, shot was not. 
Connor-C+- Ditto Stull, I liked his activity level though. 

Top Heavy 

Robel-B-) Was in beast mode with 6 blocks but def needed a sub. 
Hollins-A-) Man hes good, its going to give us all headaches gameplanning for him. 
Matty-C+- not a ton of hoops, but thought he facilitated nicely 
Lance-B- Rock solid debut from the rookie, he look like a very strong player, in multiple areas.
 

Game 2 Koller VS Mojo 

Leblanc right out of the gate nails a J, but Keith confidently nails a 3 ball 3-2. Kap with a slashing drive, but Mulv finds his spot and nails middy for the 5-4 lead. Kieth obrd put in. he wa slookign very active, as Mazone adds a runner9-4. Euler showing some athleticism gets 2, followed by a Leblanc 3 to tie things at 9. Keith feeling it hits 3, Koller responds wit float action. Game would stay very even both teams going back n forth trading punches Kieth was on fire and had his team up 28-20. Kap would get a bank shot to go, and even though it was lucky it was big as it sparked his team to get back in striking distance, after  Euler line drive buzzer beater it ws 35-32 at the break. 

Kap with a drive to start the half, but Keith was just on one as he canned another trey ball. Rooke UnderHill would get a bank 3 to go, but Keith wont quit as floater goes in. This stayed a very competive game the biggest the lead got was 55-51, but Mazone nails big time 3 to make it 55-54. Then Mazone fiinshes a sexy drive for the lead 56-55. Nice possession from Koller club, as they dont panic find a wide open Leblanc for 3………….$$$$ they go up 2. Keith said you know what , Ia m not done playing, as he hits a crazy leaning post hoop to tie it, and send us to OT!!. 

1st OT went scoreless, and in the 2nd Kollers team produces better shots, and they were able to sneak out of game 1 with a win 69-63. 

GRADES

Team Koller 

Koller-A-) Rock solid big man game, thought he was solid on all levels. 
Leblanc-A-Hugeeeeeeeeee 333333, man is an assassin…..if the game is before 8 pm. 
Kap-B- He was good Kap not great kap, but he will take the W. 5 dimes/3 steals is always a good night
Euler-B-) Being his 1st game I bumped up his grade. Saw some flashes, but also saw someone who wastrying to do way to much out there. 
Under-C+- Played his role well, need get that stanimia up a lil bit. 

Team Mojo

Keith-A- If it was a win it would have been an A+. Unreal 1st game for him, just did flat out everything. 
Mulv-B-) Rebounding was there but they are gonna need atleadt 15 + from him. 
Matty-D- Yeeeeeeeshhhhhh, he will have better days. 
Mazone-B- took him awile to get going, but hit some big shots. Needs to turn on a lil earlier. 
Raskusin-C- Hustled hard, liked his activity 
Tim-D- Hustle was there, just nothing to show for it. 

Game 3 FWTBT knocks out Point Shaffers

FWTBT took issue with my 10-point line and made me eat my words. Point Shaffers looked like they were still at the beach on vacation and if they don’t get it together quickly Barkley will have them gon fishing in Cabo before thanksgiving. Both teams started off a bit slow as they were feeling each other out but FWTBT quickly got the offense firing on all cylinders. Lerner was getting to the basket at will and playing lock down defense showing that DP’s CAC archive studying paid off on his big rookie acquisition. DP knocked down a three and was getting out on transition at will. Chas then started bombing from deep and I loved that he had no hesitation on his shots and pulled with confidence. Craig also came out with a chip and his shoulder and was playing bully ball down low getting deep in the paint and pushing Shaffer’s big’s around. Jmul was everywhere cutting and moving the ball hitting threes and also driving to the rack. EJ was making the extra pass and had some wide open looks and was able to knock one down. This was truly a clinic of team basketball with ball movement, finding the open man, making smart plays and I thought captain DP did a great job and keeping his guys fresh by subbing and keeping the energy level up. On the other side Joel and team could not get a shot to go down. Cawley was battling and had a couple go in and out. I think they need to give him some space to operate. DJ was hustle on the boards but could quite squeeze the ball a couple times and I thought Craig and Jmul did a great job getting a body on him. Joel probably should’ve shot the long ball some more but it seemed like he was trying to get the other guys involved more but it did not lead to buckets. Demetri was left open a couple times and made FWTBT pay a couple times but they quickly called a TO and rectified that. Reilley was hustling but had a couple TO’s that were ill advised. ​

I think team stats tell the story here FWTBT shot nearly 50% from three as a team with only 2 TO’s. Joel’s team was not shooting well and had 14 TO’s. All the missed shots and turnovers allowed FWTBT to play to their strength and get out on the break. I completely did not see this coming and was in shock and will now pay the proper respect to this squad. Grades: FWTBT: A+ ​Notables: Chas 5-6 from three. Shoot the rock with confidence man! ​​ Lerner – 21 points, 9 boards played both ends of the floor well ​​Craig 10 points, 9 Rebounds, 2blks – Close to a double/double owned the point ​​Jmul – 12 points, 4 boards, 2 blocks – hustled, moved the ball well very active ​Point Shaffers: F ​Cawley – leading scorer with 15 pts, had a bunch of shots go in and out ​Demitri – made the open ones – look for shots moving forward. Shaffer – 10 points will need to be more aggressive moving forward and get this team back on track

Game 4 SH VS Harry

The late game, and we had a good one here. Oully wide open gets layup to start things, Frongi follows that with a scoop. Harding working hard on the O glass gets 2. Rosi $ middy, Jaksobson wide open lay up, where is the defence from Harry club? 11-2 after Rosi 3. This thing was looking ugly as Harry team could not get stops the lead built to 28-13. Vladi finally started to connect and got cooking , and that gave space for harding to start to do his thing when the dusts settled it was SH up 36-31 on the half. 

Vladi staying hit nails 3 right away, but Wise who had a great rookie debut nailed a J to keep pace. Vladi would go right abck at them with tough drive, then Harding from deep made it 40-39. Vladi red hot gets another 3 and they have the lead 42-41. Rosi would get 2 off a broken play to get the lead back. Liam with a middy, but Skates jimmy gets the lead back. Harding relentluss on the O glass gets 2. Frongi responds with lay in, so many lead changes!!!!!Oully hits 3 to give the 4pt edge. Harding just woud not quit, his O brd hustled was fuckign awesome to watch as he gets another 2 off that, landon hit J to tie things, followed by Vladi splash 3 ball. Vladi and Harding really turned it on from here, and kinda left SH in the dust. SH goes down week 1 80-73. 

GRADES

SH

Rosi-A-)3 rebounds away from a trip dub, but he would rather the W any day. Needed to take more 3’s. 
Oullete-B-) very quiet in the 2nd half, they need him firing away for 40 min. 
Frongi-C- Very quiet, had some garbage time points to save his day.
Wise-A- definite brights spot, thought he looked very much the part. 
Jaksobson-C-) $ in the 1st half, then couldnt find any open looks
Skates-C+- Saw some flashes, he will be just fine. 

DBS

Harry-C- Reboundign was good but thats it. 
Harding-A+- Loved the fight/heart he showed in this one. Usually always fills up the stat sheet, but this effort level was epic. 
Vladi-A-) couldnt hit the side of a barn, but trusted his shot,a nd kept firing away. Incredibel 2nd half from him. 
Liam-A- great defensive effort, and to add 15 pts off that, is a silly good night. 
landon-C+- Finding his footing, he will contribute more as the weeks come.  

STULL'S UPDATED POWER RANKINGS
 

#8 Joel – Getting blown out by 37 after I picked them as a 10 point favorite puts them at the bottom of this list. Bigger upset than Deon beating TCU week 1.

#7 MOJO Dojo – Loved the Tie die shirts and the fight but they let their game get away from them late despite a monster Keith performance and what I thought was also a great Tyler game. Need to close out close ones to be in the top half of the league.

#6 – Top Heavy – Robel was blocking shots left and right and Hollis is the real deal. He was getting recruited after the game to join other leagues. Sir Lance a lot joining the league as a rookie also looked good. I expect better games from Matty O’donell and when they have STAT this team will be a problem for squads moving forward.

#5 Basket Cases – Koeller and squad showed grit and won a close one against Keith’s squad in OT. Leblanc hit a bunch of clutch shots and they will need more of this moving forward.

#4 FWTBT – I have to move these guys up into the top half after blowing out Joel’s team. Was this the case of a perfect game vs a disaster or are they actually able to beat some of the top teams in the league?

#3 Super Hoopers – I missed the second half but they were looking good before I left and sounds like things got away from them a bit. I expect them to bounce back well and they have the championship pedigree.

#2 Don’t be Stupid – I had debated putting them at 2 but gave Eric and team the edge based on past performance. Harding and squad came out and got the W to show they are not messing around this year.

#1 Corp – Battled tough against rookie Hollis and had good chemistry for the first time playing together. Ini got the most open layups he’s ever had and Horath matched up well with the Hollis hype. Mazz did Mazz things and the corp passed their first audit to keep them at #1.

Franchise League Preseason Preview

by Jason on Aug. 31, 2023

We've got Chris Stull stepping in for Matt Kaplan this Fall 23 season and while the shoes aren't literally too big for him to full, figuretiely, they may be! He's got a preseason power rankigns to get us started on the Discord, and so does Chas, so head over there to talk trash with the rest of the league! 

BY CHRIS STULL

Way too early overreactions Pre-Season Rankings Chasito is taking me under his wing and I’m trying my hand at this whole scribe thing,…

#8 STAT A lot of questions on Hollis for $82M (who you think you got Chelsea Clinton?!?!?!) will need to score at least 41 points a game to earn that contract. Can Hollis play well with Robel for twin tower championship vibes?! Time will tell. Love the O’Donnell trade (when will we get brother Danny to join?!) could use him now on this team as a shooting PG (start the recruiting process now).

#7 DP Love my SDL guy DP but the smaller court stops him from getting out on the break as much. Franchise is also a more physical league which makes for a grind of a season. Also have to bring fellow scribe Chas down a notch as I know he always has his squad’s back on the discord. Lerner/DP will get buckets. EJ will hit threes (pending no bachelor party injuries) but does this team have the size and physicality to make a run?! Will need ball movement by Chas to get Craig and Jmul involved. Let’s find out but will be rooting for these all-time nice guys.

#6 JOEL I’ll take Joel’s squad at 6. They impressed me with the fight in the playoffs last year but needed scorching shooting to do it. Let’s see if Joel can start this season how he finished last. DJ will bring the hustle and rebounding but will have a lot of size to contend with across the league. Cawley was a huge pickup for them but will need him to return to form from what I thought was a down session from him compared to two seasons ago. Reily is a hustler and can’t wait to play with him in SDL and they will need Demetri and Filip to show up. If they have some of the same attendance issues as last session, then I put them dead last.

#5 KOELLER It’s the end of the BMAC era to break up the team of two Ben’s so how the chemistry bounces back will be huge after an early exit last session. Koeller will do his thing and my guy KAPVP will bring the team together. I think there was a comment by Harry about KAP moving to his older glory PG days but I do not buy that. KAP comes from the playoff MAZZ school and is always ready to turn up which I saw first hand when he roasted me in the playoffs last year. JJ will hustle but will need to step up his offense. I feel like Leblanc has been underrated though so far in the discord and I think he will pick up the slack on offense with B-Mac’s departure. Give me this squad to be a dark horse to make a playoff run.

#4 Keith Keith is a triple double machine but will have to make sure the third double digit stat isn’t TO’s. He knows the right play to make but sometimes takes too many chances. He will need to cut those down and stay focused for this squad which as noted made great strides at last session which I got to be a part of. Tyler will also need to continue build off a great session and continue to force the action on the drive and look for kickouts. Let’s see if he worked on his three point shot during the offseason as I know he can also shoot and that will make a deadly combo. We saw a couple Matty J dazzler games but then he disappeared at other times. He will need more consistency at both ends of the court. Perhaps cousin Timmy can help keep him focused and make sure he stays aggressive. James is a great pickup and will have plenty of shots for this team (can’t leave him). My guy Steve is joining franchise and I saw him light it up in 5v5 draft for a game so let’s see if he can bring that energy over to CHISE. Will he clash with Keith as he also likes to be a vocal leader?! They also get to ball in SDL so that chemistry will either grow or crumble quickly……

#3 HARDING (or Harry) HARRY (or Harding) Who’s the captain? Who will handle subs? I assume Harry is the proxy here and will ensure all guys get involved and handle matchups. Harding can score from anywhere at anytime on anyone and proxy Harry will let him focus on that. Liam impressed me with his shooting last session and will need to keep that up to pull other squad’s bigs out of the lane. Vladi will be able to shoot open three all days which is his game but will he settle for those too much? Walker will hustle his ass off and clean up any misses while also getting his own at times if he can get the ball. Everything all goes through Harding though and I think he handles the pressure and takes the squad on his back.[17:33]

#2 ERIC The Super Hoopers always seem to be there at the end and Eric has ice in his veins. He’s got his guys Frongi and Jakobsons by his side and Ouelette will make shots and play Robin to Eric’s Batman. I feel like this team has good chemistry and Skates and Wise should fill in nicely. Wise will need to bring the physicality and turn back the clock to hang with some of the big guys down low but I think he can do it.

#1 MAZZ To be the best you have to beat the best and that has been MAZZ and the corp. MAZZ has his pick and role guy Hohrath who already brings great chemistry. INI joins the squad with me (if you cant beat them join them) and always bring the hustle and athleticism. I hope he get’s some damn respect from the ref this year cuz he get’s hacked every time. With the lane clogged up Luigi will need that mid-range to be consistent this year but I got him to knock that down consistently when the paint is clogged. I’ll be scouting what MAZZ’s favorite color Gatorade is to move sure he stays hydrated as we know when all else fails give MAZZ the ball and let’s face it that usually works. Assuming I get some PT I’ll be able to come in and make an open shot otherwise I expect not to see the court again. Give me the Corp though to win it all and my first CAC title after 4 second place finishes. In CEO MAZZ we trust. Let’s get it.

That’s a wrap can’t wait to hoop with y’all!

BY CHAS BELLS

Impossible Power Rankings

#8 Team STAT: Yes, he has a player with a highlight reel, did going for D3 players work last session for him? I will tell you what didnt work, that piss poor defensive effort, and unless that changes with some of the guys on this squad then its going to be tough sledding. I can say if they do it right they may be able to get some good mismatahces with their size, might force some teams to go zone on them. What changes the story, is if Hollins is everything STAT Paid for, and is dropping 60 a night. They are here for now.

#7 Team Red Barron- Did Keith do enough with the money he had? I am not sure, and he had a bunch of $ and did not come away with his top target in INI, in fact I think he got out of the race way to early. There is defitneyly potential for this team to take the next step as the rookie Tim Johnson could be the person to elevate this team, but hard to say without seeing him play. This team will be tough on the O, and defensive boards which will keep thiem in most games. If Mulv can build off last session and knock down 3-4 3’s a game, then this team will be moving up this list.

#6 Team Joel- I like this team, I cant say I LOVE this team. Right away I can see a weakness in 3pt shoooting, feel like team will pack the paint and dare them to hit jumpers/3’s. How many games will Demitri miss, because he missed like 6 last session, that is no beuno with this roster construction. What I like about his team is defense, Cawley/Joel together is no fuckign joke, and I cant wait to watch them shutdown/harraass peoples lives. This team will be in most games, but I see them coming up short in the long run. P.S Why would you give Mazz the best defender in the league??? !!!!!!!! 

#5 Team Koller- A top big with two great facilitators in Kap/Leblanc you have to be excited about that. Did he do enough after that though? Underhills bio was UNDERwhelming , JJ is an awesome hustle guy, but people can double team, and force him to take midrages, making it hard on the other guys. Euler can be a huge wild card, but again the unknown is the unknown. This team could have size issues at times, where they will have to make adjustments with certain line ups. I see a uphill climb here, especially with Leblanc reporting that he will miss atleast 3 -4 games.

#4 Team DP! When DP contacted me and told me he wanted to take over the team I was elated. DP was a MVP caddiate last session , and was doing it in all areas of the game. DP loves to fly so he added the super explosive high scoring Lerner to the mix, those two will be a handful. Our roleplayers will determine everything though I need to not play like a BITCH, and get back to my Chasmanian ways, Craig will have to continue his steady improvement, J.Mul will have to be the versatile x factor that we all know he can be, and EJ needs to hit his open 3’s, and I think we really got something here. I think with any team that I am on, we will be a little small sometimes, but we will figre out the proper rotations.

#3 Team Super Hoopers- They still have that championship duo in Olly /Rosi so that why they are so high on this list, but did they do enough? Getting Frongi back was huge because now they have a solid trio, but with the rumors of Wise being like legend Pat Mcgir I question how they will deal with the athletic bigs in this league, and coud find themselves getting posted up alot, or just getting beatup. They will need Skates/Jakobson to elevate their play, but I can say Rosi/Oully have shown to make everyone betetr around them, so they are here for now.

#2 Team Harry- I really like what he did, had a ton of money and went to work with the hardhat, he really robbed the bank with Walker.A lot of these guys have played together multiple times so the chemistry is already solidified. Harding can outscore just about anyone, and if he is cooking that means he draws the attention, and Valdi nails the open 3. Losing out on INI was not a good thing at all for this team, as they went from a heavy favorite to win it all, to they are just like the rest of us, which is beatable. Landon was a nice nab at the end, as I feel like he is one of the most underrated players in the whole league, he could give them the edge they need.

#1 Team Corp- Mazz did a truly masterful job here. He stole Hohrath as teams with alot of money were trying to save bread for the Hollins sweepstakes, I bet if captains could go back they Make mazz go to atleast 60$ for his big man friend. Then he makes 2 savy trades...... why did the capatains agree???? The trades landed the best defensive playerin the league , and that is not debatable. The only thing that could derail this team is stamina , I could see this team running out of gas agaisnt the deeper teams. Overall when I take a step back it Mazz combined with could be the best scoring big in Hohrath, and defensive big in INI, and that sounds like a winning combination to me.

Franchise League Week 3 Write-ups

by Jason on May. 19, 2023

WEEK 3 WRITE-UPS

Week 3 Game 1 Super VS Poor 
By Chas

Frongi dives in right away to kick us off, and Oully followed his lead $ a 3, Rosi TD ass to Frongi after steal, then Frongi another lay up sheesh it was an ugly 11-0.Ini goes 1-2 to finanly get them on the board. Mulv goes 2-2 to keep the pressure 13-1. Matty gets a 3 to go thank god! Ini scoop shot, Mazone drives in , Ini 1-2 again, but Oully 3 brakes the run 16-9. Amazon filthy lefty drive, but Oully going step for step wih and 1 19-11. Ini bank shot.19-13. Kap hustle elads to Mulv lay in, then Mulv in the right place at the right time for 2 23-13. Stull 3 ball splash alert, than Keith Obrd put in 26-18. Kap zooms in, but Mazone Trey makes it 28-21. Amazon $ another trey, and another 28-27 we got ball game baby! Frongi calms things with cut, but Ini hook keeps pace. Oily feeling it gets a 3, but Mazone in his bag gets the lefty lay in. Rosi finally in on the act with a J, Frongi running well gets another deuce, but that Ini hook was falling, Frongi just gashing them with another running hoop, then a Kapadon steal 3 ball magic it was a crazy 42-33 at the break. 

Ini grown man lay in, Keith grown man lay in it was 42-37. Mulv brakes mini run with lay in. Mazone sneaky down the base line. Mulv, and smooth Matty J trade 3’s, but Keith gets floater 47-44. Puller big 3 to stretch the lead 50-44. Stull crafty to the line gets 1-2, Mulv would get a J, but Keith sees a 3 go through 52-50. Kap strong righty drive, but Stull not taking no shit $ 3 54-53 what a game! Kap answers with veteran 3 , but Mazone obrd converts, then Matty nice cut we were knotted at 57 all! Mulv obrd leads to big Rosi 3, than Rosi 3 again , after some fts Matty would get a 3 to go making it 64-61. Poor had good 1 n 1 ft chances but kept missing them, and that was huge as Rosi really got going down te stretch, Pulley would add a 3 and that was good night Irene. 77-69 Super stays unbeaten 

Super 

Rosi-B-) Took him way to long to get going, and it almost cost them. As alway he knew when to turn it on and and got out of there with the W. 
Oully-A- Vintage Oully here, he was the efficient assassin we all love. 
Frongi-B+- Run , run, run he knows how to keep pressure on the D, and it gave great results. 
Mulv-B- Solid day, hustled hard , and made an 2nd half impact 
Kap-B+-He’ssssssss back. Much more impactul, getting swipes/3’s,and dimes. 

Poor

Matty-B-) Dude can shoot it, and its beatuful. But needs to get out on shooters more. 
Stull-A-) Really likes his fight/actvity out there.
Ini-B+- Scored the rock well, still not the most efficient from the line. 
Mazone-A-Holy moly this kid is a baller, would have got the A+ with a win. Left drives, just filthy 
Keith-B- Came late but still filled up the stat sheet, rebound excellently maybe one to many 3 down the stretch.

Game 2: Mulholland Drive vs. FTR

ReKAP:

We had a good one in game 2, featuring Mulholland Drive taking on FTR. Houston was out for MD, missing his second straight game, while FTR was fully staffed with Dru making his season debut. It was tight to start, with both teams exchanging baskets. Chas was looking to be more assertive, hitting an early 3 and delivering a number of bellowing screams that hurt my ears. JDM and Harding were exchanging blows as expected and DP delivered a nasty patented drive and spin on LeBlanc. Welcome to the spin cycle LeBlowby! FTR led 15-13 after the first 10 minutes of play.

That’s when it got ugly for FTR. MD ripped off a 22-6 run to close out the final 10 minutes of the first half. Their offense looked much improved, with JMul providing a nice facilitator role. He was moving the ball well and while he didn’t rack up a lot of assists, he did provide a number of “hockey” assists. The assault resulted in a 35-21 MD halftime lead.

FTR has a bunch of guys that can play though, and Harry’s halftime speech must have done something to inspire his team. FTR opened the second half with a 13-4 run to cut the deficit to 5. Harding led the charge as usual with some long balls and nice drives to the cup. He looked to be more assertive out of the intermission and it paid dividends. Vladi got in the act as well after a quiet first half and just like that we had a ball game on our hands!

After a timeout, Chas would calm the troops though MD was able to weather the storm. A LeBlanc 3 would push the lead back to 9 and MD remained pretty much in control for the rest of the game. FTR battled their asses off but every time they seemed to get closer, MD had an answer. I am not going to speak on the “self-pass” play by JDM because it was the right call, but I know FTR will be pointing to that play as a pivotal moment late in the game.

Down the stretch JDM and LeBlanc were lethal from the free throw line combining to go 15/16 in the game. Not too shabby! These two would end up combining for 50 points and ultimately it was too much for FTR to overcome. MD comes away with a very solid win, 70-61.

Grades:
JDM (A): JDM was fantastic in this one. He posted a strong 30 point, 10 rebound double double. No offensive rebounds is kinda shocking but he still balled out and made a number of “OMG” shots.
LeBlanc (A-): LeBlanc is still trying to figure out the long ball this season, but he was excellent everywhere else. Floor generaled the game well and made all of his free throws.
JMul (B+): He didn’t take a single 3! He did however, play a really good game despite scoring only 2 points. He was basically the Draymond Green of this team. I don’t know if that’s a compliment or not. He did all the little things in this one really well.
Chas (B+): Pretty solid Chas game here. He was much more assertive on offense as Vladi was giving him ZERO respect on his shot. He ended up going 2/7 from deep but they were all good looks. A solid effort here.
Craig (A-): Craig didn’t get mentioned above, but he did play a really solid game. He went 1/2 from deep and had some nice 2-point buckets. This was definitely one of Craig’s best efforts of the season.

Vladi (C+): Kind of a mixed bag for Vladi. He didn’t shoot that well from deep, but he did make some timely ones. The 3 steals were nice. I am used to more dimes from Vladi but maybe we can blame his teammates for missing shots?
Harding (B): Expectations are high for this guy so I am going with an EH game here. I will cut Harding some slack because MD has a very good defense. Pretty much a run of the mill game here. I did like seeing the 3/5 from deep though.
DP (D+): You might be thinking a D here is harsh, but expectations have gone up! I don’t think DP necessarily played terribly, he was just kind of a non-factor. I feel like DP passed up some open threes as well, and he has been shooting the long ball well this season. Let’s fly homie!
Harry (C): See DP. Not much of a factor, outside of a couple nice mid-range jumpers early (and they were sexy). He missed some easy ones in the second half which hurt. Harry did make a nice play saving one of those misses from gong out of bounds though.
Liam (C+): A tough wide open missed layup late in the second half hurts Liam’s grade but I thought he played fine. He was kind of a non-factor outside his usual stellar defense, but when your team loses the grade suffers.
Dru (D): Would have been an F but it was his first game of the season. That said, woof, rough debut. Played about 5 minutes, had 3 rebounds, 2 ghastly turnovers, and a wild missed drive to the rim. Yuck.

Game 3: Kawhi Me A River vs. All Length, No Girth

ReKAP:

I looked to my left while scoring the previous game and who’s ugly ass do I see walk in…SAMUEL POLLOCK! I guess he got the Tibbs “don’t tell anyone else” approval. I thought this was kind of unfair at first, but after this game I was dead wrong. KMAR was fully staffed while ALNG was without John Reilly. I expected a pretty good game. Woops!

KMAR jumped ALL over ALNG right away behind a masterclass in shooting by the legend Tommy aka RoY Kahana. Holy moly what a show he put on, absolutely dusting Ruiz over and over again. Tommy was absolutely scorching to start the game and in the first half he pretty much hit every single shot he took. He dropped a cool 19 in the first half. Beast!

The Tommy surge really set the tone for the first half and this game overall. ALNG really struggled on offense, especially in the first half. Pollock had trouble fitting in with his new teammates, Ruiz was still looking for answers from deep and Joel couldn’t get much going. KMAR led 39-22 at the break.

The second half was a mere formality. KMAR was not fucking around, maintaining a double-digit lead throughout the half. Tommy cooled off, but his teammates had his back to keep the onslaught going. Koller got going, converting some tough drives at the rim. He was putting all that Djordje MVP buzz to bed. LaPorte continued his torrid three-point shooting and Ben Mac was working in the paint. He had a nice drive in the second half right into Djordje’s grill followed by a Mutombo finger wave. You ain’t stopping this train big fella! KMAR cruises to the 66-50 win with little resistance.

Grades:

Koller (A): Koller had an all-around very good game. 19 points on very efficient shooting. He didn’t miss a 3 or free throw and stuffed the stat sheet.
Ben Mac (A-): Very solid game for Ben Mac. Got the assists back up after last week and was a beast driving the ball to the rack.
Cavano (C+): Cavano wasn’t a huge factor in this game, but he did what his team needed to get the dub. Had a few buckets and hustle plays but otherwise was pretty quiet.
Tommy (A): Quiet second half, but he basically won his team the game in the first. What a showing by the vet. Loved to see it. Tommy is the frontrunner for steal of the draft right now.
LaPorte (A): Speaking of frontrunners, LaPorte is the clear frontrunner at this time for 5th man of the year. He has been stellar off the bench this season and tonight was no different. He is now 6/9 from deep on the season. Bang!
JJ (B): Quiet game for JJ, but he played his role. Didn’t do anything stupid and made a few plays. Can’t ask for much more from a bench guy.
Joel (D): Not a good game for Joel. No dimes, 2 TOs and 10 points. I expect more from a guy of his caliber.
Djordje (C): This was Djordje’s worst game of the season, but it was kind of expected with Koller on the other end. His line was actually pretty decent at face value, but his rebounding was way down. MVP stock…down!
Ruiz (D): Really rough game for Ruiz. Got abused by Tommy, had 4 TOs and went 1/9 from deep. The talent is there but I think he is trying to figure it all out.
Bakolas (B-): Shot well from deep to save his grade, but nothing special here. I like this guy’s game though and I think he has been a good piece for this team.
Pollock (D): Rough debut for Sammy boy. New league, new team so I won’t be too harsh, but he started the game with 3 TOs. Unacceptable.

Game 4: HOLLAND vs. The Corporation

ReKAP:

In the late game we had HOLLAND taking on The Corporation and this one stank of blowout city. Both teams were fully staffed so no excuses! I was looking forward to Devin taking on his idol in Mazz so that was a fun matchup to see.

We had a pretty good on our hands to start. HOLLAND looked a lot better this week, playing like an actual team and giving Corp all they could handle. Devin had an early beautiful high off the glass drive that impressed me. Mazz answered though as these two were exchanging blows. Corp led 17-14 and I thought maybe this could be a game?

Big Lou would spark a little Corp run, doing WORK in the paint. He was converting his little baby hook and when this shot is dropping you ain’t stopping it. He would end up with a solid double double in the game. Corp would push the lead to 11 behind Big Lou’s strong play but enter Civale. Oh baby what a shooting display. Civale nailed his first two treys and you could feel that this was going to be a Civale game. He was COOKIN’ in the first half, keeping HOLLAND within striking distance. Corp would lead by “only” 8 at the break.

Out of the break though, Corp would really start to exert their will. HOLLAND started to resort back to old habits, with a lot of 1:1 play that would result in empty possessions. Corp would capitalize, scoring on a couple Mazz-Walker pick and rolls. All of a sudden, I looked up and Civale was 6/6 from deep and HOLLAND was down 18. How is that possible!?

HOLLAND played hard and looked much better this week, but they couldn’t overcome the early second half run by Corp. The defense by Corp was too much and HOLLAND couldn’t manufacture consistent offense. Despite Mazz and Syd’s horrific three-point shooting, Corp comes away with the expected win 74-57.

Grades:

STAT (B): STAT played a solid game despite only scoring 8 points. He snagged 15 rebounds and only had 1 TO. I need to see more leadership from him though. This team needs some direction!
Devin (D): Devin was pretty quiet after a solid start. Only scored 12 and his team really needs him to get 20+. He will have better days ahead.
King (D): King was more or less a non-factor. He spent too much time complaining about the ref than actually playing ball. We have all been there though, god knows I have.
Bonvie (C): Went 0/5 from deep but part of that is because his team doesn’t really put him in positions to score. Bonvie can stroke with the best of them, and this team needs to figure out how to get him open looks.
Civale (A-): If you go 7/10 from deep, I don’t care if your team loses, that is impressive. Civale added 4 blocks too which was nice to see. Need more defensive rebounds though. One rebound?!
Robel (D): Not a good Robel game. His outside shot was way off tonight, and he just looked rusty overall. I need more!

Mazz (A-): Poor from deep but dominated the game. Dropped 20, had 8 dimes and 1 TO. I feel like he could have done anything he wanted against HOLLAND’s defense.
Cawley (B): Regular Cawley game. Some points, some rebounds, a nice block. The usual shit. Fuck him.
Syd (C): Rough shooting from deep. I liked how Corp’s offense became “feed Syd until he makes one” to keep his confidence up. Did other stuff though to contribute to the win.
Walker (A-): Walker was very good in this game. Made some nice shots around the rim and hit a middy. Also set some good illegal screens one that sent DQ into space.
Big Lou (A): Big Lou! Kid balled out tonight. Double double and a block. Love when he plays well.
EJ (A-): Nice game off the bench for EJ. Made 2 of his 4 from deep and played his role nicely. Two TOs hurt his grade a little.

Franchise League Week 3 Preview

by Jason on May. 16, 2023

BY KAP

WEEK 3 PREVIEW

Two weeks are in the books and the league is starting to take form. I am pretty confident that we have 4 legit contenders at this point, but that could very well change. Don’t forget the Corp started last season 0-2 and ended up winning it all. Will a team emerge from the shadows this season? Time will tell. Two teams that come to mind are Joel’s and Keith’s. The jury is still out on them. Week 3 should shed some more light on those guys.

But first… Week 2 Player of the Week – Your week 2 PoW is Tyler Masone. Young fella went OFF this past week, scoring a league high 37 points to go with 9 boards, 7 dimes and 0 TOs. Masone feasted on HOLLAND’s lack of defense and led Keith to his first win ages. Keith owes this guy a fruit basket at the minimum.

Week 2 Role Player of the Week – Your week 2 RPoW is the ageless Tommy Kahana. Tommy didn’t look a day older than 25 in his week 2 shooting clinic, dropping a team high 19 points on 5/8 shooting from deep. His performance was well timed as the Bens had off nights offensively.

Week 3 Matchups

6:15 – Super Hoopers vs. Poor House

This is a sneaky trap game for SH. The first thing that comes to mind is Ini’s defense on Rosi last season when these two squared off. Ini did a fantastic job limiting Rosi and making him work hard for buckets. If the matchup remains the same, SH will need to get more offense from the supporting cast, especially from yours truly and Frongi after last week’s trash. In fact, I am dubbing myself as a big x-factor in this game. I have no excuse this week as I will not be sitting behind the table prior to playing, so I will be locked and loaded. Vegas has SH as a big favorite here, but if Masone and Keith shoot the long ball like they did last week, watch out.

SH -7.5

Player to watch: Frongi – I think Frongi is going to have some favorable matchups in this one. He has a quick first step to the rim and should be able to use that to his advantage with either Keith, Matty J, Ghost or Stull covering him. FOOD!

7:05 – Mulholland Drive vs. FTR

Oh baby, this is a fun one, a lot of fecal matter on the court. Two of the league’s best square off in JDM and Harding in what figures to be an all out war. Let’s not forget that we also have Chas vs. Harry as well as LeBlanc vs Vladi. Wooooweeeee! Man, I don’t even know what to make of this game. Both teams have been all over the place in the early season. Each team has 1 win, both defeating Joel’s team, so this is a big test for both squads. My gut feeling says that FTR is the team to pick here. MD just hasn’t looked right, especially on offense. JMul hasn’t been great, Chas looks like a lost puppy and LeBlanc’s shot has abandoned him. Give me FTR behind the 3-headed monster of Harding, DP, Vladi.

FTR -3.5.

Players to watch: JMul – We need a JMul game here. Rebounds, threes, blocks. Make it happen you bum.

7:55 – Kawhi Me A River vs. All Length, No Girth

This is a big game for ALNG. Through two weeks they have competed, with a skeleton roster, ultimately coming up short in both games. Will they finally break through and get a dub? It’s going to be tough. KMAR has the personnel to match up nicely with ALNG. Ben Mac can make life difficult for Ruiz, Cavano can handle Joel and Koller can basically cover anyone. ALNG is going to struggle to score so their path to victory has to be to muck this game up. Stay close and make some key plays late. I expect a big Koller game though as he attends the Djordje buffet and leads his boys to a win.

KMAR -5.5.

Player to watch: Ruiz – Round 2 of the Ruiz watch. I think he will shoot better this week after having a game under his belt. His team is gonna need it!

8:45 – HOLLAND vs. The Corporation

Potential blowout in the late game, as HOLLAND has proven they cannot cover ANYONE. Woof their defense is bad, and against Mazz, Cawley and company you better D up. I’m sorry but I just can’t see a win here for HOLLAND. Maybe Bonvie goes nuts from deep? Maybe Syd has a meltdown and gets ejected? Maybe DQ outplays Mazz? Even if all of these things happen it will still be an uphill battle for HOLLAND. I am going to have to see a real defensive effort from them until I pick them to win a game.

Corp -15.5.

Player to watch: STAT – We need a grown mans game from STAT here. He has it in him. He can draw fouls on Syd and take him out of the game, mentally and literally! I think we will learn a lot about the landscape of the league this week. Looking forward to it. - KAP

Franchise League Week 2 Write-Ups

by Jason on May. 15, 2023

WEEK 2 WRITE-UPS

Game 1:

Kawhi Me A River vs. Mulholland Drive

ReKAP

Week 2 kicked off with a solid matchup in Kawhi Me A River vs. Mulholland Drive and this game was expected to be backyard brawl. KMAR was fully staffed while MD was missing Houston, which I thought would be a mild factor in the result. JDM, coming off a rough week 1 showing, looked like a completely different player right out of the gates. He was looking spry, crushing KMAR on the offensive glass and providing MD with a nice early game jolt. He had 3 offensive rebounds and a couple putbacks within the first 3 minutes as MD jumped out to the early lead.

MD would maintain control for most of the first half, until the Tommy-Cavano-LaPorte show kicked off. These guys led KMAR to a quick 9-0 run to take 3-point lead late in the half. These guys were excellent in this game combining to go 10/15 from deep! However, the first half would end up with a MD 32-31 lead, but KMAR had to be happy with that considering the Bens were kind of non-factors.

In the second half the game kind of got away from MD. The shots weren’t falling, especially for LeBlanc who struggled to shoot the rock. Meanwhile, on the other end, Tommy went nuts. Old man Kahana turned back the clock going 5/8 from deep and really providing KMAR with a much-needed spark.

This was a really good game down the stretch. MD would claw back and the cut the deficit to 1 after a JDM three. The balanced KMAR attack would end up being too much though. Amazing three-point shooting and some late free throws would propel KMAR to the win.

KMAR wins 65-59.

Grades:
Koller (C): The points weren’t there, but everything else was. Normally a guy with 11 rebounds, 4 blocks and 6 dimes would get a strong grade, but the bar is high for Koller.
Ben Mac (B): Not too much to say here. Solid game for Ben Mac, but nothing special. He did hit half his threes which is a big for this guy so I will credit him there.
Cavano (A-): Really nice bounce back game for Cavano. He was very good in this game, hitting 3/5 from deep on his way to 11 points, 10 rebounds and 4 dimes. He had his fingerprints all over this game.
Tommy (A): Tommy was the MVP of the game. 19 points on 5/8 from deep. Not much else in the stats department but it doesn’t matter if he is shooting like this. Great game from the seasoned vet!
LaPorte (A): LaPorte just continues to roll off the bench. This guy is making an early case for 5th man of the year. He knocked down 2 treys in this one and made all the right plays.
JJ (B): JJ did his thing again off the bench, doing all the little things and giving his team a nice boost. Not much in counting stats, but he did have 8 points on efficient shooting.

JDM (A): It’s amazing what a week can do. JDM was a completely different player this week, going nuts for 25 points, 2 steals, 2 blocks, 13 rebounds and 7 dimes. Didn’t get the win, but he still played his ass off.
LeBlanc (C): Not a great game for LeBlanc, despite scoring 19. It was an inefficient 19. The 3 ball just wasn’t there for him tonight. You don’t see many nights like this from LeBlanc so we will chalk this up to an off week.
JMul (C+): JMul’s grade was salvaged because he did a nice job on Koller, but on offense he was non-existent. Collected 4 offensive rebounds though which is solid.
Craig (D): Not a good Craig game. Took some sketchy shots and fouled a lot. Credit him for snagging 8 rebounds though and preventing the “F” grade!
Chas (C-): A game to forget for Chas. He wasn’t completely awful, but he wasn’t good. Contributed 6 points, but played too tentative at times, especially when shooting the long ball. Let it fly with confidence my guy! 

Week 2 Game 2 Super VS Corp
BY CHAS

Mulv got us started with a cutting hoop, and then Oully added a transition lay in 4-0. Mazz walk up 3 , yup that good 4-3, then Walker 1-2 to tie things at 4 16min. Rosi strong to the cup, but Mazz responds with 3. Rosi nailed a 3 bomb of his own, and he liked that so much he $ another 12-7. Big Lu got busy in the post, but Rosi was busy from deeep cannes another 3. Jakobson addes runner 17-9. EJ gets a 3 to go , they needed that, but Jakobson sticks J 19-12. Mazz dives in, but Oully keep pace with middy 21-14. Mulv gets 2 down low, Rosi 2-2 25-14. Mazz Jimmy, but Oully 3, followed by Sydorko tech (hand slaps forehead emoji).

31-16 after a Frongi lay in, Super pouring it on as Jaksbosn finishes , Rosi off window 35-16. Mazz stops bleeding with drive, but Rosi 6 th dime to Jakobsn was pure 37-18 at the break. Mulv Obrd put in and this one was getting ugly, after some action and another Rosi 3 it was 43-26, and I was about to stop taking notes. Mazz would not go down without a fight as he would follow a Sydorko spin shot with a three, then Mazz steos through double, then Mazz trey, and how about another trey suddenly it was 43-34. Rosi continued his stellar night with a J, Walker tries to keep pace with post, but Rosi splashes 3 48-36. Mazz deep 3 swishhhhhhhh, hes locked in now, as he lines up another, nothing but the buttom of the net 48-42. Rosi huge response 3 ball, but Mazz just wont stop hittign 3’s, the score go to 54-50, looking like the Corp had super on their heals, but Oully with the big balls 3 ball, Rosi would add a dagger 3 and Super escapes the Mazzalanch 62-53.

Super Rosi-A+- Walking fireball, and did it in big moments as well. Dude is a savage.
Kap-C- 5 dimes is good, 3 points is not. Also had 3 turnovers, I always expect more impact from Kapadon.
Oulley-B- Solid game, nothing crazy just did his job. F
rongi-C- One of the lowest ive seen him score in a awile. Kept the positivity , passed well though.
Mulv-B-) Not a tone of buckets but liked his activity on theboards and on D.
Jakobson-B-Strong 1st half, didnt do much in the 2nd, but when hes hitting that middy it makes this team very tough.

Corp

Mazz-A+- Loved how things were going so bad, but his mental toughness was really on display. Never quit, nearly pulled off, and epic comeback. I loved it!
Sydorko-D- I dont want to be a preacher here, which ive def been guilty of letting my emotions get to me, but man, you are only hurting youre team by flipping out. Jokes on me though because they won the ship anyways with this similar problem so who says i’m right? I was impressed that he calmed down ,and didnt pick up his 5th foul though.
Walker-D+- Very quiet game from one on my favorites.
Big Lu-C-) Rebounding was very good, but again let the ref in his head, and showed have been t’ed up himself. Mental toughnes baby !!
EJ-C+- Hit a 3 , thought he fought hard on the boards, and played some good D on frongi

Game 3

Poor House vs. Holland

ReKAP

HOLLAND took the court with 3 this week with Mulvehill filling in against a fully staffed Poor House team. Would Keith finally get a win, his first one in 85 years? My guess pregame was that he would, and you could tell his team wanted this one too. Onto the action! T

he story early on was the play of Tyler Masone. HOLLAND had absolutely no answer for this guy. Mazz sitting next to me at the scorer’s table said, “Masone is gonna have a huge game tonight” and he was right. Masone was a beast from inside and out. He stroked his first three ball of the game, an excellent sign after last week’s trash. He scored at will at the rim and really looked good out there. HOLLAND had no answer for Masone.

Despite being undermanned, STAT, King, Bonvie and Mulvehill fill in battled in the first half. They hung around and kept this game within reach. STAT was doing a nice job getting his teammates open shots, as King and Bonvie knocked down early triples. Offense was flowing nicely for HOLLAND, in fact, for both teams, as defense was optional. This was a very high scoring game in the first half, and I wondered if HOLLAND could sustain this for a full 40. PH led 48-38 at the break.

Poor House would “pour” it on in the second half. Keith got going, knocking down a couple treys and providing elite energy that sub-less HOLLAND couldn’t match. Ghost started to find the range and Masone continued to destroy anyone who tried to cover him. Matty J made sure to get in the act as well, connecting on a couple long balls. Just like that we had a good old-fashioned blowout! Credit to HOLLAND for playing hard and competing for a half. It’s hard to win when you are missing half your team especially in a league of this quality. Most of the second half ended up being a fun stat-padding affair for both teams, with PH coming away with the 102-79 win.

Congrats Keith!

Grades
Masone (A+): The RARE A+! Masone played a perfect game. He went nuclear, dropping a game high 37 points to go with 9 rebounds, 7 dimes and 0 turnovers. Monster bounce back from week 1.
Keith (A): Not much mention of Keith above, but he really did play an excellent game. This is the first time in a WHILE I have seen him make some outside shots. He was straight up cookin’ in this one, stuffing the shit out of the stat sheet on his way to his first win in many moons.
Ghost (B+): Strong game for Ghost, who chipped in 10 points and a few rebounds. Played his role just fine and did what his team needed to secure the dub.
Johnson (B): Not a great percentage from deep, but Johnson was able to connect on a trio of triples nonetheless. Above average game for him but nothing to rant and rave about.
Ini (B): Ini made his season debut and struggled offensively but stuffed the stat sheet otherwise. He played strong D as usual and had a couple of nice blocks. The 4 dimes was nice too.
Stull (C): Didn’t do much, but his team came away with the easy dub. He was active on the glass, collecting 6 boards, which was good to see.

STAT (B): Despite the blowout, I thought STAT played a very solid game. He had some strong finishes around the rim and moved the ball well. He gets docked because his team got smoked but he did have a good individual game. 8 dimes and only 2 TOs too.
King (C): Not a great game for King. The stats look ok, but I thought he struggled to get into the flow of the game. Not great from deep and had tunnel vision at times. I think he will improve as his team continues to figure out how to gel.
Bonvie (C): Tough game for Bonvie who was forced into 40 minutes of action. I will give him credit for knocking down 5 treys, albeit on 15 attempts. He held his own out there in a difficult situation and should see better days going forward.

Game 4:

All Length, No Girth vs. FTR

ReKAP

There was a lot of buzz heading into the nighcap, with ALNG welcoming their newest addition in Jovan Ruiz. I was intrigued to see how this guy would mesh with his new teammates. ALNG would roll with 5 for this one while FTR would be fully staffed. This was a damn good game for the most part, especially in the first half. Bakolas for ALNG came out swinging, draining 4 of 5 threes in the first half and really setting the tone for ALNG. He really had it going early and often. Joel would contribute a vicious block on Vladi that sent the ball straight to hell, in a half that ended up being a nightmare for Vladi. He was NOT good in the first half.

Lucky for him, Harding was back in action, and he looked like a guy who had been practicing in Italy. His middy was on point, and he did his usual thing getting to the rim against hapless defenders. Harding had some help from DP as well, who has looked sensational through two weeks. We had a tightly contested first half, that ended with a spectacular play from Bakolas to Reilly for a deep 3, giving ALNG a slim 2 point lead the break.

Most of the second half was hotly contested with the two teams exchanging blows in what was a close game. Eventually Vladi decided to show up and take matters into his own hands. After being a complete non-factor for 30 minutes Vladi found the stroke, knocking down 3 late triples to give FTR some breathing room. His surge really ended up being the difference down the stretch. ALNG was not able to recover, as FTR escapes with their first win, 73-62.

Grades:
Joel (B+): Very solid game for Joel. Had a double-double and shot well from deep. Needed more dimes to get into the “A” range but he had a nice game regardless.
Djordje (A): Another incredible game by Djordje. This guy is on a tear! 14 points and 20 rebounds!? Where did this guy come from!? If his team had a win he might be a legit MVP candidate.
Reilly (D): Aside from his end of the half three, this was a game to forget for Reilly. He got blocked by Vladi TWICE and his shot looked horrendous. This one was a far cry from his week 1 success.
Bakolas (A-): Bakolas was awesome in the first half from deep really pacing his team on offense. He disappeared in the second half offensively, but he did enough overall to warrant a strong grade.
Ruiz (C): Expectations were high coming in for Ruiz and I would say it was a mixed bag. He was way off from deep, but he had some grown man finishes at the rim. He also had a couple clutch buckets late to try and keep ALNG in the game. Looking forward to seeing how he responds next game.

Vladi (C): The tale of two halves. F in the first, A in the second. Made the clutch threes when it mattered most. Overall a shit Vladi game but he was instrumental in helping his team get the win.
Liam (B): Liam had a nice game, playing his role well. Knocked down a trey and rebounded the ball well. Added a couple blocks and looks to be fitting in nicely with his new squad.
DP (A): DP came through with another excellent game. Anytime DP is making 2 of 3 from deep the opposing team is in trouble. He looks extra spry this season, especially on the glass. I might have to actually start respecting his game.
Harry (B+): Pretty good Harry game here. Stuffed the stat sheet with 7 boards, 2 dimes, a vicious block, and a bucket. Did his best to limit Djordje but this has proven to be a tall task this season.
Harding (A): Harding returned to action with a purpose, dropping a cool 30 to go with 9 boards. He picked up right where he left off and should be putting up numbers like this all season. That is, if Vladi gets out of his way.

KapVP 

It’s only two weeks I know but here is your early MVP ladder!
1. @e_rosie1
2.@Mr 63
3. @dp
4. @djvlajkovic
5. @bkoller297

Franchise Draft League Week 1 Write-Ups

by Jason on May. 05, 2023

BY KAPVP & CHAS BELLS

Game 1: Super VS STAT

BY CHAS BELLS

There was some real excitement and curiosity what D.Quin would bring to this game, and he got cooking right away with a flash like drive to the cup 2-0. Kap coming out swinging as well as he $ floater 2-2. Kap followed that up with a 3, and D.Quin responded with and up n under 5-4. Eric get an easy 2 of cut, then Kap another 3 Kap was gassed “ I need a sub!!” 10-4 16 min mark. D.Quiin was the teams only offense as he drove in for the hoop, and then did it again 10-8. Rosi calmed things with a trey ball, Mulville copied that with a 3 of his own 16-8. King would get on the stat sheet as he got a 3 to go, and then $ another 3 on the next possession 16-14. This was Kpas half though as he had the long range working , hitting another 3, but Civale snipers a 3 19-17. Rosi hesi gets to the rim, then connects on middy, Oulley 3 ball, Rosi 3 ball A’O……Frongi drive it was 31-20.King trying to keep them in it with strong take, but Oully breaking there heart with a 4pt play 35-24 2min in the half. Jakobson middy, but King heating up gets another drive 40-28. Jakonson runner. Than Rosi hits long buzzer beating 3, everything going Supers way 45-26. 

D.Quin pull up 3 to start half, but Mulville gets easy 2 off p n roll, D. Quin get a drive, but this game just got worse, and worse, and WORSE the score would ballon all the way to 40………..40………….. Rosi hitting 3’s dishing dimes, Oulley nailing 3’s, Frongi bi 2nd half and this one was over and ugly 98-52. 

Super Hoopers

Rosi-A- Lead all scoreres, never took his foot off the gas. 

Oulley-A- Reunited with his squad, and it must feel so fucking good. Looking like the assasin we all know. 

Kap-B+- Slowed down the scoring in the 2nd hlaf, but 8 dimes , 8 rebounds doing all the solid kap stuff out there. 

Frongi-A-) Erupted in the 2nd half, as he smelled blood, and started running the floor getting easy hoops. 

Mulv-A-Scoring was good, but his defense was even better 3 blocks, showing that he will be the paint presence that this team needs

Jakobson-B- Rock solid, hustle was awesome to watch, along with that pretty mid range. 

Team STAT 

Stat-D-) Almost an F but his 5 dimes save his night slightly. He just looked out of it tonight, made no adjustments, it was rough. 

D.Quin-B-) Scored the rock well in the 1st half, but with Super pouring it on the game got away from him a little bit. This team needs the bal in his hands every possession. 

Civale-C-) Where are my rebounds???/Struggled to get back on D. 3 looked good though. 

Robel-D- Rough night, thought he settled way wayyyyyyyyy to much for deep 3’s. Struggled to get back on D. 

Gus-C- Showed some flashes, thought he shot too many 3’s. Like to see him drive and create a bit more for his teammates. 

Bonvie-B- Thought he as a bright spot. Passed/rebounded well, even added a block. They will need more 3’s from him. Got to create and find him open because he will drain that shit. 

Game 2: Mulholland Drive vs. All Length, No Girth

ReKAP:

Game 2 featured Chas versus Joel and this game lost a lot of its luster with no Lucio in the building. All Length, No Girth (ALNG) ran with four for the evening as they were without Hayden as well. Mulholland Drive (MD) on the other hand was fully staffed, but boy did they look AWFUL out of the gates. JDM looked rusty, coming off injury, as he struggled all night to find the range. The rough start allowed ALNG to get off to a nice 8-2 start, behind a Joel three (his only make of the game) and some terrific facilitating by rookie John Reilly. The real story in the early going though was the activity of Djordje. He really abused JMul in this one, collecting 8 offensive rebounds which directly resulted in JMul only collecting 3 for the game (how is that possible?!). Djordje was a beast in the first half, grabbing EVERY rebound on both ends and making several tough finishes around the basket, which we all know he usually misses. Chas would call a timeout though and rally the troops. MD started to get the shots to fall and close the gap. LeBlanc would knock down a 3 to stop the hemorrhaging and JDM would get a couple to go down. What was once an 18-8 lead for ALNG eventually turned into just a 1-point lead at half for ALNG.

The second half opened with a beautiful and smooth move for a layup by another rookie, Demetri Bakolas. More on him later. After that though, MD really flipped the switch. Craig started to get going (never thought I’d say that), banking a 3 and making a tough layup inside. Houston, we did not have a problem, inexplicably called his own number converting a wild three. Just like that MD had a 6-point lead and it just felt like ALNG was running out of steam. The Jerk Store connection of JMul and LeBlanc would lead to a 3 for each of them, kapping off a 13-2 MD run. They would never look back. The offense went cold for ALNG and despite a very valiant effort without their prized rookie, ALNG would come up short in what was really an ugly ass game by both teams. MD wins 54-46.

Grades:

JDM (C) – Cutting him a little slack coming off injury here, but he did not play well. Did a nice job on the glass and on defense but we can put this one in the rearview for JDM.
LeBlanc (B-): Not a great game for LeBlanc, but he made some clutch plays when it mattered most. Surprisingly poor shooting, but it’s week 1 so everyone gets a little reprieve from me, even LeScrub.
JMul (C-): The blocks were nice, but this was not a good JMul game. Yes, he hit a clutch 3, but he allowed Djordje to go bonkers on the glass. Three rebounds?! Bruh.
Houston (B-): I think this guy has potential to be a nice piece for MD, but his decision making is poor. Tunnel vision city. He ended up with a nice line but this grade could have been way wore if some of those tough shots didn’t fall. That said, buckets are buckets!
Craig (A-): See Houston. Decision making was poor but it worked out. Overall I would say this was a very good Craig game. His team needed all 12 of his points. If Craig is going 2/4 from deep you are taking that every single time.
Chas (D): Bad game from Chas. No need to dissect this one, just chalk it up as the week 1 blues.

Joel (B): Shot was off, but I thought this was an overall solid game for Joel. He got his rookies involved, rebounded well, and had 3 swats. He will see better days offensively.
Demetri (B+): I liked what I saw from this kid. He has a smoothness to his game. He made some moves the basket that really impressed me, which is tough to do. I would like to see him contribute in other ways but it’s just one game so we will see.
Reilly (B+): Another rookie who impressed. This guy won’t get you a lot of points, but he’s a terrific passer and very active defender. He should be a solid piece for this team.
Djordje (A): This would have been an A+ if we saw less long two-point attempts. Wow, what a game from Djordje. I felt like he got every single rebound no matter where the ball was ending up. This guy covered so much ground it’s crazy. What a game, too bad it came in a loss.

Game 3: Poor House vs. The Corporation

ReKAP

Game 3 was expected to be a laugher, and the situation got worse when we found out Ini was not going to play. As a result, we had a fully staffed defending champ Corp versus a seriously undermanned Keith team. No Super Bowl hangover for the Corp here. They went bananas right from the tip, jumping out to an 18-4 lead. I think this game started 13-0 Corp? It was ugly. Mazz hit his first 3, Cawley with a middy, Syd and Lou manning the paint…everything was working for Corp. Timeout Poor House (PH). PH played hard, but the first half was tough sledding for them. Masone and Johnson could not find the range from deep (combined 5/23 in the game) going 0fer from deep in the first half. Keith provided a mixed bag, doing a nice job on the glass and in the hustle department, but his outside shot was just completely lost. Offense was very tough to come by for PH which resulted in a 40-20 deficit. The second half really seemed like a formality for the Corp, but not for PH. They played HARD. Johnson finally found the stroke, hitting back-to-back bombs to make this thing respectable. With 13 minutes left the lead for Corp was only 12. It was clear that the Corp took their foot off the gas, which is to be expected in a game like this, but they were able to maintain a decent lead by making enough plays. Big Lou in particular, who apparently does not take compliments well, did a nice job owning the paint and collecting a number of tough rebounds. Walker as well deserves a shout out for making a number of tough buckets off of Mazz missed threes. It was an off-shooting night for Mazz, but he did have 2 blocks which was a rare sight.

The Corp would build the lead back to 18 with 6 mins to go, but amazingly PH did not go away. Things got EXTREMELY sloppy with Mazz and Cawley turning the ball over at a impressive rate. The TOs allowed PH to chip away and actually make this thing kind of interesting. The chaos really favored them. Keith was a menace down the stretch, completely stuffing the stat sheet, but the deficit was too much. The Corp would survive winning by 3 after a wild ending.

Grades:

Masone (C+): Very mixed bag here. Three ball was way off, no assists, but had 5 steals and had to cover Mazz all game. He did have some impressive steals off Mazz but his team really needed his long ball in this one.
Keith (A-): Such a tough grade here because there was a ton of good and bad. Ultimately, given the circumstances, I will give Keith the benefit of the doubt. A triple double is a triple double, but he has to clean up the TOs and the jump shot.
Ghost (B): Ghost didn’t make the reKap above, but he had a solid game. Made a bunch of jump shots and was admirable on the glass when Keith wasn’t grabbing the rebound. Ghost should be a solid piece for this team especially when Ini returns.
Johnson (B-): The tale of two halves. Couldn’t hit the ocean in the first, but in the second he almost sparked the comeback of the century. Johnson also moved the ball well and stuffed the stat sheet nicely.
Stull (C-): Tough game for Stull. I thought he forced some ill-advised deep threes but other than that he was fine. Stull will need to make some key shots this season for PH to be successful.

Mazz (C): Expectations are high for Mazz on any given night so you could argue this C is generous. I think this was a poor Mazz game. Not great from 3 and too many TOs. The steals and blocks were there though which was a nice touch.
Cawley (C+): Not a great game for Cawley. An absolutely putrid assist-turnover ratio but made up for it with 18 points and steals and blocks. Also didn’t get to the line which was surprising.
Syd (B): Syd’s grade goes way up because he actually behaved really well in terms of not getting ejected haha. As for his on the court play, nothing special. Missed all his threes, but did a nice job on the glass. One game in the books and no techs…win!
Walker (A-): Perfect Walker game for this team. He fit in really nicely and did his thing. Grabbed a bunch of ORebs and made some putbacks. He is going to be a critical piece for the Corp this season.
Big Lou (A): Very strong game for Lou. I don’t care that you only scored 9 points big fella! There is more to the game than points and you proved that. 16 rebounds, 4 dimes, 0 TOs. Well done.
EJ (A): EJ joins Djordje in the prestigious “A” club. Excellent all-around game for EJ off the bench. He was 3/5 from deep and played his role perfectly out there. If EJ is going 3/5 from deep the Corp is winning that game.

Game 4: Kawhi Me A River vs. FTR

ReKAP:

The late game had the looks of a really good one…until we found out no Harding. Kawhi Me A River (KMAR) took on FTR and without Harding I knew this would be a tough one for FTR to win. KMAR was fully staffed, so let’s get right to it.

Offenses were cooking in the first half for both teams, but it was KMAR who really impressed me. I have a feeling my preseason assessment was a little off with this team. The Ben-Ben combo looked really good and old man Tommy looked like young buck. Shocking I know. Tommy opened the show right away with an early three and he looked ready to cook. Koller and Ben Mac came out cooking as well. I think Koller missed one single shot in the first half, absolutely roasting Harry to the fine tune of 18 points. The other Ben, Ben Mac, was also playing lights out, running point extremely well and converting several tough finishes at the rim.

FTR played horrid defense, but their offense sort of kept the in the game. DP looked really solid in his return, knocking down an early 3 and going to work around the rim. Kid looked SPRY tonight. Liam and Vladi also were hot from deep, but they still trailed by 10 at the break. FTR surrendered 48 first half points. 48! C’mon.

KMAR maintained their lead for pretty much the entire second half. Koller would really slow down the scoring, only tallying 4 second half points, but his friends were there to pick up the slack. KMAR’s bench really came to play in the second half. LaPorte and JJ were awesome. Their activity and decision making in this game was impressive to be honest. These two had a combined stat line of 21 points, 13 rebounds (6 offensive) and 5 dimes. That’s a damn good showing from your bench guys.

Credit to Vladi and company for hanging around for most of the game without any subs. Vladi made some really tough threes in the second half but FTR ran out of steam. KMAR would end up pulling away and wining this one easily, 86-68.

Grades:

KMAR

Koller (A) – Kinda disappeared in the second half, but the entire body of work speaks for itself. Huge game from the MVP candidate. 22 points and 18 rebounds? Not bad. Also 2/3 from deep. Love that.

Ben Mac (A) – Excellent game for Ben Mac. Ran the show beautifully and made a ton of winning plays. Missed all of his threes, but he was good everywhere I am not docking his grade. MVP cancdidtae? Fuck no.

Cavano (C+) – Awful night from 3 for Cavano, but he saved his grade by doing other stuff. Did his typical thing on the glass and payed solid D. Should have better days offensively.

Tommy (B+) – He’s back! And he looked good. Tommy’s shot was falling and despite a horrible assist-turnover ratio this was an excellent debut from the veteran.

LaPorte (A) – Really can’t ask for much more from your bench guys. 9 points on 2/3 from deep with other stats. LaPorte looked very comfortable in his role on this team and should be a legit asset for them all season.

JJ (A) – See LaPorte. Same shit, different bench guy! Really nice game for JJ. Played his role perfectly and did all the little things.

FTR

Vladi (A) – Very good game from Vladi. Made 7/15 threes on his way to a game high 27 points. His defense was kinda sus but he still balled out despite being an overall scrub in life.

Liam (A-) – Solid game for Liam. Shot well from deep (3/7) and contributed 4 dimes. Would have loved to have seen those threes in the playoffs last season!

DP (A) – Nice return to action for DP. 26 points and 13 rebounds. Knocked down a couple treys and should have had a third. Defense may have been bad, I forget…but as I am writing this and giving everyone on this team an “A” despite giving up 86 points I am thinking something ain’t right.

Harry (C) – Pretty much a typical Harry game. A couple buckets, some rebounds, getting cooked by Koller…you know, the usual. Figure out the defense buddy!

Franchise League Week 1 Preview

by Jason on May. 02, 2023

WEEK 1 PREVIEW Everyone’s favorite week is upon us…week 1! After much deliberation, shit talk and banter it’s time to see what’s what and who’s who. We have a sexy 4 game slate set for tomorrow night so let’s jump right in and take a look at the season opening matchups. NOTE: I know people like to keep absences quiet, but if you could let me know when people are out that would help the weekly preview. Thanks.

6:15 - Super Hoopers vs. HOLLAND Right out of the gate I will get a firsthand look at Devin so I am looking forward to that. Will I be guarding him? Time will tell. Aside from that storyline this is an interesting matchup. A lot of unknowns on Xavier’s side. How will this team mesh? What is Gus King’s deal? Will Xavier torpedo yet ANOTHER squad? One thing is for sure: this team has SIZE. This could pose a problem for our squad, so Wooly and Mulvehill will be key in holding down the paint. It’s always tough to write a preview for your own squad, but ultimately I think our chemistry and depth will prevail. I expect a closer game than people think though and Vegas agrees as they set the line at -4 for Eric’s team. Player to watch: All eyes will be on DQ obviously, but I am going to keeping my eye on King. No idea what he is, but he will need to be something for this team to be good this season.

7:05 - DANIELS-MULHOLLAND vs. All Length, No Girth Another tough preview to write, as we have JDM versus Joel’s completely unknown squad. I am going to wait at least a week before I dish out hot takes on Joel’s squad. What we do know is what JDM’s squad will bring to the table. JDM will run the show with JMul and LeBlanc filling in the gaps. Chemistry is going to be the difference in this game, so I have to side with JDM to take this one. Vegas has the line at JDM -6. Looking forward to seeing all the rookies though even if I have to see Joel too. Player to watch: Lucio, duh. This guy has the potential to change the entire outlook of this league…orrrrr he’s just another YouTube one hit wonder!

7:55 - BARANOWSKI vs. The Corporation As Mazz so eloquently stated on discord, this has the potential to be a preseason warm up for the Corp…or does it? Super Bowl hangover anyone? Ini, Masone and Keith all player VERY hard and I think if the Corp isn’t careful they could find themselves in trouble. Effort goes a long way in these games, just ask Kevon Looney. Obviously, the smart money is on the Corp, as Keith’s squad is going to have a lot of trouble defending Mazz, but I am going to go out on a limb and say Keith’s squad keeps this thing respectable. Vegas disagrees setting the line at -10 for the defending champs. Player to watch: Keith! No this is not another Keith bashing rant. There will be plenty of those. I am actually looking for Keith to get his shit together and I am rooting for the guy. He needs to be good this season. Figure it out brother!

MACDONALD vs. FTR Harry told me no Harding for this one, so the game of the night potential is long gone. That said, I think Vladi’s team (or is it Harry’s team?) will still very much be in this game. Listen, I love the Vladi bashing, he is light years from being an MVP candidate and he’s a terrible person, but the bottom line is he can play. If his shot is falling FTR will win this game. Additionally, Vladi’s squad has the defense to matchup with Ben’s team outside of Koller. Koller should have a big game and start his MVP campaign off strong. Give me Ben Mac to take this one in a close game. Vegas has FTR -3. Players to watch: Going with two guys here. DP and Tommy! It has been a WHILE since we have seen them so the question is this…do they still suck at basketball?

Alright boys, tell me where I fucked up or said something dumb. Let’s get the banter poppin’ early and often. Can’t wait to get a glimpse of all these teams in action. - KAP

Spring 2023 Franchise League Preseason Power Rankings

by Jason on Apr. 30, 2023

BY MATT KAPLAN

PRESEASON POWER RANKINGS

Let me start by saying this: I don’t like power rankings. I don’t like doing them, reading them, or talking about them. Buttttt I know you fucks are clamoring for my thoughts on each team so here you go!

The “To Be Determined” Tier:

8 - Joel – Way too much unknown here to rank them. This team has 4 rookies, one of which could be a huge game changer in Lucio. I am definitely looking forward to seeing this kid play. If Bakolas, Reily and Hayden are the real deal then this team could make some noise, but I will reserve judgement until I see them play a couple games. Verdict = TBD

The “Pretender” Tier:

7. Keith – No brainer here. Keith has shown me nothing to make me believe he can lead a winner. I will give him credit for pairing Masone with Ini though, which I think will be a really solid duo. That said, I think Keith is washed as a player. He just did not look right last season. Who is the third guy for this team? It must be Keith. I just don’t see it. Verdict = A million things would have to break this team’s way to win a title. 

6. Xavier – We all know the big story here. Devin for 51.7 puts a ton of pressure on him to basically carry this team. Even if we assume Devin is a really good player, which by most accounts he is, can he do it all by himself in a league this deep? Nope. Stat, Robel and Civale just ain’t gonna work and I am willing to bet money this team finishes in the bottom 4. Verdict = Light years from contending.

The “Smack Dab in the Middle” Tier:

5. Ben – This is like a BDraft all star team. On paper, Ben Mac, Cavano, Koller and Tommy looks real shiny but will it work? I am 5050 on it, which is why I have them comfortably in the middle of the pack for now. Koller has been an absolute beast lately and is a legit MVP candidate, but I am not sure he is a team carrier. This will be a competitive team each week with Ben Mac and Cavano’s energy and activity, but the key ultimately for these guys might be the play of Tommy! Verdict = Would be shocking if these guy won, but I am not saying it’s impossible.

The “Contender” Tier:

4. Vladi – I am much higher on this team than most people. The Vladi disrespect is already pouring in, and I am absolutely here for it, but the bottom line is he and Harding is an excellent pairing. Both can score and pass and should be tough to deal with each week. Add in Liam and DP and this team has potential. They lack size, which could be an issue, but I think they have enough pieces to be contender. Verdict = Contender. Anytime you have Harding, you cannot be overlooked.

3. Eric – It’s always hard to evaluate your own team before the season due to bias amongst other things so I will take a conservative approach. This looks like a very solid team, with Eric running the show and the rest of us filling in the gaps. This should be a very high IQ team which goes a long way in winning. Eric, Ryan and Frongi have done it before and when you add me to the mix, well, we all know that’s a massive boost to any locker room. Verdict = LFG!

2. JDM – This team is flying under the radar, and I don’t know why. Much like Eric’s team I just see the pieced fitting beautifully. JDM’s health is always a concern, but I can’t predict that. What I can predict is this team will be very good. Johnny and LeBlanc are perfect compliments to JDM, and Craig really impressed me last season. Oh and Chas will be good for 8 fouls a game (2 will be called). Just kidding buddy! Verdict = 100% a contender.

1. Mazz – Your favorite heading into the season boys and girls is none other than Mr. Mazzeo’s corporation. What a shitty ass company! How can you not say this is the best team on paper? They brought back their core in Mazz, Cawley, Sydorko and Big Lou and added Walker. Uhhhh yeah this is a pretty damn good team. It’s their league to lose! Verdict = FAVORITES!

Week 1 preview will come Tuesday probably? Maybe tomorrow if I am motivated. Maybe Wednesday if I am lazy! Looking forward to it bitches.

- KAP

Franchise League Week 2 Write-Ups

by Jason on Jan. 26, 2023

Week 2

Game 2 Get That D 67 vs West End Johnnies 70

 by CHAS BELLS

Talbot got things going with a drive, and Kerk doing his best Grant impression splashed a 3 5-0. Liam stopped the momentum with a 3. Talbot 3 ball, then he connected on a middy, Kerk with another sexy 3. Joel would cash a jumper, and then dime Harry 15-11. West Ends pssing was so good as Kerk/walker Give nd go magic. Get that D was hanging around though Harry 1-2, followed by a Joel J 17-14. Divine got cooking wth a cut, and then 2 of a steal, and then a nifty drive it was 29-20. Liam would connect on a 3 to keep pace, but Talbot was a man on mission as he slashed in for 2. West end would get the lead up to 13 after another Divine bucket but a nice push from Get that D at the end of the half Civale trey , and then Post Harry 38-30 at the break. 

Joel 3 out of the gate , then Civale trey ball, West end would punch back with a big run, and after a Talbot J it was 46-37 with 16 min to go.Talbot went down clutching his knee, and it doesnt look good WTF!! Joel stays with it and got 2, Civale hot from 3, Joel J but West end had an answer all night as Walker post, Kerk splash 3 made it 51-44. Liam wasnt done doing work as he drove in, and then hot another 3 it was just a 53-50 game with 9 to go. Paul got a midrange to go, followed by a big Divine 3 58-50. Joel J/Ini drive /Joel J, but Kerk was the killer tonight as he nailed a bigtime 3 64-56. Civale would not go quietly into the night as he got 2 straight 3’s to go 64-62. Divine converts nice scoop over 2 guys and it was FT time, but West End struggled to put this one way. Joel gets fouled shooitng a 3 he hits all of them 67-67, this one looked like OT. Divine the hero hits crazy floater , and then Get That D had a bad turnover to end it 70-67 thriller!!!!!!

Get that D

Harry-A-) I gota say Harry balled out, passing was good/D was good/ and POST HARRY was here

Joel-B+-He was solid, got lost on D a bit though 

Liam-B-) Quiet for stretches then would go on burst, but needs to be more spread out

Ini-C-0-4 ft’s and only 6 pts wont get it done

Civale-B-was toasty from 3 , but where are my rebounds ?

West End

Talbot-A- GET BETTER SOON MY MAN!!!!

Walker-B-) Was quiet but rebounded well 

Kerk-A+- Hero mode, played one of the best games ive seen him play

Divine-A-Game winner was crazy, but he finished over double teams a bunch 

Paul-B-Rebounded well, and splashed a J

Game 3 1$ for All All for $1 61 VS Luka 64

By CHAS BELLS

Oully came out storming hiting 3 and middy 5-0. Titties finishes obrd, but Keith J kept lead at 5 7-2 17 min. Tits and Oully trade hoops. Koller J, Tities 3 and we were knotted up at9 15 min. Young would give 1$ the edge as he got a 3 to go 16-15, but B.Mac was a bulldozer and ripped off a run byhimself and it was 24-16, as Titties connected. William would hit a ft, and J ball, but Tities jumper kept the edge 26-19. Keith $ a 3,but Koller ord leads to B.Mac trey 29-22. Gold finally in on the act finishes an obrd, but Koller with the 3 gave them fits. 1$ would go on a nice push to end the half Keith 3/Oully transition 2/ Young 3 it was 36-32 at the break. 

Tities continued his great night with a J, and then Koller post 40-32. William/B.Mac trade hoops. Williams hits 3 42-37, 42-39 after tough bucket from Keith. Koller middy/ B.Mac drive 48-39 trying to sneak away, but Keith 3 ball keeps them in it 48-42. B.Mac/Koller just kept getting buckets 55-42, but a big Dave 3 gave his team life, and Oully would hit a 3 of his own, and the got a layup 55-50 6 min to go. B.Mac crazy floater but Keith’s 3, made it just a 57-53 game. It would turn into FT time, but Luka could not put this one away, as another Keith 3 made it just 63-61. 1$ would have their chances but some bad possession down the stretch caused the game to end 64-61. 

1$

Keith-A-)Shooting was very good, gota call timeouts and get better plays at the end there. 

Gold-C+-6 dimes is good, but he was hesitant today, he will get better every week 

Oully-B-he was good, this teams needs hm to be great. Take more shots 

Young-B-)Much better outing , getting more comfortable 

Dave-C-) My main man been very quiet so far 

William-B-played ok, but I love his energy , that stuff goes a long way. 

Luka

B.Mac-A-) Bullozing and stuffing stas sheets, thats what he does 

Koller-A+- My MVP of the session so far

Tities-A-All over the fuckign place, looking like steal of draft 

Willy-C-)Mama said their be days like this 

Game 4 Super Hoopers 77 vs STAT 69

By CHAS BELLS

Mulv got things going witha  trey ball, Harding responds with smooth J. B.Mac /Nair got cutting baskets 7-2 17 min. Frongi trying to get his team going hits 3 8-5. Mulv obrd work, but Rosi splashes 3, and Harding ties it with drive 10-10. Nair j, Harding steal and finish. Rosi would break the tie with 2 straight walk up 3’s 20-14 Super up. Stat bucket but Rosi 3 , you might want to cover that 23-19. Mulv sick pass to Nair, Djorde hook shot to keep pace 25-21 10 min. Harding nice finish, but Mulv hits floater, Stat put in, and another Mulv bucket lead to this game being tied ar 32 all. Djorde /STAT trade post hoops, but a Landon 3 gave Stats team the 37-34 lead at the break. 

Harding J , and then another hoop off broken play 38-37 Super back up. Rosi 2-2, but Nair with some razzle dazzle hits middy, Mulv 1-2 to tie things 40-40. Harding 3 ball, but Landon hits a 3 of hs own. Nair liked that so much he hit 2 straight 3’s and then added a J it was a shocking 51-43. Rosi big time 3, why are they letting him shoot? Nair 2-2, Harding drive/Stat 1-2, but then another Nair 57-48. Rosi always turns on in these moments , and he gets a 3 to go, and a runner, after a harding  3 it was 60-56 Stat up. Nair 3 ball up it was good his 5th of the half 63-56. Jakobson nice J, then Rosi tough drive brought them closer. 1 min to go Stas team misses easy shot openign the door for a rosi walk 3 it was up and gooooooooooood we go to OT. 

Harding trey, but Nair 3 to tie it. Super would run away after that as Stats team just could connect 77-69 great game, greta win for super. 

Stats team

Nair-A-Kids a starrrrrrrr

Landon-B-Nice shooting, he got cooked on the perimiter a lil biy

Mulv-A-) One of the best games Ive seen from him

Stat-B-Good numbers but gota call timeouts and change the D when Rosi is cooking

Super

Rosi-A- Big giant balls 3 ballllllllllllllllllll

Harding-A-Was the smooth assassin killer

Frongi-C+-started well , kinda disappeared 

Jakobson-C-) they need a little more from him. 

Djorde-B+-He plays like this he will always give youre team a chance to win

Franchise Week 1 Write-ups

by Jason on Jan. 19, 2023

Franchise League Week 1 Write-ups

Game 1: Hart Foundation vs $1 for All and All for $1
By THE KING

I didn’t have high hopes coming into this game, with Ouellette and Gold being out for Keith’s team. The spread felt the same way as it was deep in the double digits, with HF giving a whole lot of points and rightfully so. HF, had everyone show up for them, while Keith’s team ended up missing Jamaal too and needed Devin to fill-in the entire game. That seemed like an upgrade for Keith, but would it matter. TO THE ACTION!

Boy, did this game suck for the first 10 minutes (and then the following 30), with both teams, but especially Keith’s team struggling to get going. Rookie Tyler Young put on the kind of shooting display captain’s see in their nightmares when drafting a rookie, as he went 0 for 5 from deep in the first half. His shot didn’t look too bad, but it was wayyyy off in this game. DTO and Keith weren’t much help either, as they combined to go 1 for 7 from 3. Keith claims he can shoot 3s, but my eyes and the stats say different. The only one who looked ok, was the one guy not on the team.

On the other side of the court, HF looked pretty lackadaisical themselves, turning the ball over a bunch in the first half. Although, JDM continued his torrid pace from last season, registering a first half double-double and leading all scorers by far, with 16 first half points. The good passing of this team continued as well with multiple guys dishing out at least 2 assists. Something I love seeing from teams. Move that rock people and everyone eats.

HF went into the half with a commanding and insurmountable 34-21 lead. Both teams looked like trash and I wanted to cancel the game here, but I was told we had to play a second half. BACK TO THE ACTION!

At some point in this half, JDM was assaulted by Devin and that put a stop to his good game. To the surprise of no one, that kind of halted HF’s offense in the second half. Armstrong looked like he lost all his powers the mullet gave him. He wasn’t efficient at all from deep and didn’t get anything going on the inside either. These guys only had 23 second half points, which considering their opponent is pretty fucking awful. Leblanc was the only bright spot with 8 second half points. WOOF! 

Of course HF’s putrid offense was nothing compared to the continued bag of crap from Keith’s team who kept shooting 3s no matter how many they bricked. Rookie Young, would post another 0 for 5 from deep and Keith added an 0 for 4 in this half as well. At least Keith was able to show some sort of a pulse down low and get to the line. Devin, also caught the disease of 3-pointers from his teammates and went 0 for 5 himself in the second half. If you’re counting at home that’s three players combining to go 0 for 14 from deep. YUCK! 

This game took the form of the worst kind of pick-up game late and merifully Marlon called it with a minute and a half left. No one came out the better from this game.

Grades

Keith D+: Keith told anyone who would listen how good he was and that depth didn’t matter, then he laid this egg week 1. 

DTO C+: I guess he played ok, but I barely noticed him in this game.

Young D: There’s no way to spin going 0 for 10 from 3 with zero points.

Devin B-: Decent fill-in job with no notice of playing.

Hart Foundation:

JDM A: He was great until he got hurt, then did nothing, but he didn’t need to, so why push yourself?

Brett  C-: Brett was pretty mediocre out there, he should start trying to grow back that mullet ASAP.

Chas C+: Not a bad Chas game, but he was struggling a bit with pressure when bringing up the ball. Something to take note of.

Leblanc B+: Solid debut from Leblanc, who I’ve lowered my expectations for, so this is now a good game.

JJ C+: Not too shabby, but I’d like to see at least one first half stat.
Craig A+++: Not for his performance, but for getting himself into a lot better shape. What a stud he’s looking like now.

by CHAS
Game 2

STAT vs Get that D

Liam ripped off 5 pts in about 30 sec, and Harry's Team jumped out 5-0 18min. Joel added another J, but Landon got a middy to go 7-2. Ini scoop /Civale 3/Liam 3 it was an ugly 15-4. Nair in the building now but Harrys team still working, Ini O board put in 17-4. Joel and J.Mul trade J's 19-6. Nair and Mulville both got floaters to go, but Liam kept pace with a drive. Lando put in, Nair trey ball, then Nair powers in for a post bucket, and then he cashed a J, followed by another Landon J wow what a run 24-21. They were not done Stat trey $ we were tied, but a Shaffer 3 ball at the buzzer gave Harry the edge 27-24. 

Joel picked up where he left off and splashed a 3 29-24. J.Mul orb and then J, but Joel so hot right now hits another 3 32-26. Mulville put in but there goes Joel again for 3 35-28.Stat Drive but , yup its a theme Joel canned another 3 off Harry dime 38-31 16 min to go ! J.Mul hits J, but Harry hits the captain J47-33. Nair bucket off cut, Mulv J, Nair high off the window, Mulvil 3,  what a run but after an Ini up n under it was 49-42.. Stat 3 ball was up and good, he liked that so much he hit another 3, and then Nair wanted to be cool so he hit a 3 they had the lead 51-49!! Liam hits both ft's to tie it at 51 all. Harry had a big stop on Stat, and then Liam with a filthy take for the lead. Nair calmly cashed a J to tie things. Stata converts a big time drive , J.Mul steal, Lanon ft's and that's all she wrote. What a comeback ! 

Stats Team 

Stat-A-) He had some defensive lapses but man were those 3's and drive huge. His motor was very good this game. 

MulVille-B- Quiet but solid game, hustled hard on the boards and converted tough buckets in the lane. 

J.Mul-C+- Little quiet in his Franchise return , getting settled in with his new squad. had a big steal at the end.

Landon-B- I thought he was solid with made the most of his minutes/opportunities. 

Nair-A-) Really came in a provided some real fire power. Gota love the 3 blcks/ 3 steals as well 

Get That D 

Harry-B-) Not much stats, but I thought he played well. Big D in a huge spot, just couldn't get his guys to close out, or that's what he said. 

Ini-B-) he was good very quiet in the 2nd half. needs to be the alpha on this squad. 

Shaffer-A-) Was red fire hot, but had some big defensive lapses down the stretch. 

Civale-D- He knows it was bad 

Liam-A- best 1$ player ever 

Game 3

Mac vs Mazz

Sexy Tities got us started going 1-2 from the line. Mazz splashed a 3 , got get out on that 3-1 18 min. Cawley J, but Tits high off glass. Koller lost by the D gets an easy bucket 5-5 16 min. Tits with a dime to Mac, and then Mac by himself to the cup 9-5. Mazz keeping his team in it with the trey 9-8. Cavano answers with a  3 of his own, and then Koller liked that so much he swished a trey ball, he would add a running basket, then a middy, and then a post bucket it was 21-9 wow! Willy Aleen would get on the act nailing two deep ass 3 balls 27-14 after a Cawley bucket stops the floodgates. Tits, and Evan traded buckets , but Corp could not afford to trade, as they do it again after buckets from Cawley, and Mac. Mals would cap off the impressive half with a buzzer-beating 3 it was an ugly 38-21 at the half. 

Koller picked up where he left off going 2-2 40-21. Mazz found Luigi with a  dime, Cawley to the cup for a mini run, Evan hits a 3 after a Willy bucket 43-29. Mac/Cawley trade buckets. Cavano J , but Mazz's team still fighting Luigi obrd put in /Cawley j 47-35. Koller would go on a 6-0 run pretty much putting this one away, Mazz's team would get with in 11 but this one was over 69-56. 

Mac's Team 

Cavano-B- He was solid, finding his role on his team, I expect even more production. 

Titts-B-) Didnt score it a ton, but he was a terror on D, his hustle was awsome

Mac-A- One of the best players of the night. Was dominant on both ends 

Koller-A- Ditto Mac, if they play like this going to be nearly impossible to beat then. 

Willy-B- rock solid rookie debut , loves the deep 3!

Mal-A++++++++_ Legend get better, and get back and kick our ass! 

Corp

Mazz-C+- Prolly would have been a lower grade but Mazz never gave up despite the tough game, he had 4 blocks and was coaching hard. 

Sydorko-B-) Alays brings a strong effort, thought he was rusty on both ends tonight

Evan-B- Thought he was to quiet on D, thought he rebounded and shot well though. 

cawley-C+- Scored well, but rebounding was lacking alot

Drew-D- Come on man !! to many turnovers, he will have better nights. 

Luigi-B-) Thought he hustled well, kinda a bright spot for them

Game 4 

Rosi vs Talbot

Grant trey ball master nails a 3 right out of the gate 3-0. Hardin smooth as butter J 3-2. Frongi converts Harding dime 4-3 18:30. Talbot nice drive, but Frongi crispy from 3, and then adds scoop shot 9-5. Rosi kept it going with a deep trey11-5 16 min mark. Harding 2-2 , but Divine in action with a post bucket 13-7. Harding 2-2 again 15-7. Talbot filthy drive, but Rosi answers with a  J. Grant 3 ball its goodTalbot would splash 3 straight 3's suddenly his squad was up 21-18 7 min. Harding answered with a sick jumper 21-20. Walker with the big boy move in the post, but Frongi lined up a 3 and it was good, followed by a Rosi and 1 nice push from them 25-23 after missed ft. Harding pushed the lead to 4 with a  smooth J, and then Jakobson got in on the act with 2 broken play layups. t the break it was 31-24. 

Frongi and 1 to start half to put them up 10, but Grant canned a 3 to keep pace.

Grant would add a finish off the window, Divine J lead was cut to 36-31. Jakobson ended the mini run with a hoop. Talbot wasn't done as he drove in, and then Divine in the post 38-36 13 min to go in the ball game. Dive post, talbot drive thy had the lead 40-36. Momentum was swinging and swung hard as Kerk the Man lined up deep from 3 and it was a big one. Rosi squad could not recover, as Walker started pounding them in the post, they would get it to with in 7 , but that's all she wrote. Team talbot shuts everyone up 55-47. 

Team Rosi

Rosi-C-) Not sure I've seen him play this inefficiently before, very weird game from him. 7 dimes is nice though.

Harding C-)-Kept them in it, but seemed to be rushing a lot. When he uses his smoothness he's great but got flustered tonight 

Frongi-B-) Started well but kinda disappeared 

Stull-C- Hustled hard had a dime, he will have better days

Jakobson-C+- Got buckets but got roasted in the post. 

Team Talbot

Talbot-A+- He plays this this they are a true contender

Divine-B- took him awhile but when he got working int he post it was the key

Grant-A-) Provided scoring and 7 dimes, very impressive 

Kerk-B-Did his big man thing, and hit the game changing 3 

Orlinksi-C-He hsutled hard , not much on the stat sheet. 

Walker-C+- He was good at the end, but they ill need more. 

Franchise Draft W23 Preview

by Jason on Jan. 18, 2023

by CHAS

Here we go boys, the league has a real scribeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee, and it’s me Chasito, The Chasmanian Devil!!!!!! Gonna try and bring some fire, and excitement to the coverage, as this league was straight-Sex last session, and it’s what you great players deserve !! I will start us off with a segment I like to call, The bad/ugly/Good/Sexy.

Team Xavier :Landon/Nair/J.Mul/Paul/Mullvill 

The Bad: Does anybody see a Pg here? The O, might be quite gross at times. Lagno will have to develop some P-n roll skills on this team as he has 4 big men to work off, which I have never really seen him do. The spacing could become a real issue, as these guys try and figure out where/how they fit. 

The Ugly: This team is really deep, and stocked full of guys who are used to playing solid minutes, will they 1st be ok with limited rolls/less shots, and 2nd will their play be hurt by lack of flow/comfortability?Is Nair ready to be a true number 1 in a league more competitive than the SDL?

The Good: Size might lead to spacing issues, but it also may lead to a ton of 2nd chance opportunities and easy buckets, mismatching all dat jazz. I love the 3 point-shooting variety of Nair/Lagno/J.Mul/ Mullvill, this team could beat anyone if they are feeling it from beyond the arc.

The Sexy: Have you guys ever seen Xavier’s wardrobe, straight GQ pretty boy swag this man def fucks, hide you’re wives. Def sowing up to the 1st game in His peacoat and scarf just to intimidate us! Rookies are also sexy, the new guy on the street Nair/j.Mul will have a lot of eyes on him as well. 

Team Shaffer: Harry/Kap/Civale/Ini/Liam

The Bad: Obvi kap missing the playoff game is no Bueno, and this team looks like they really need him, which most teams would need their floor general. This team only poses a minimal threat from trey ball land, if Civale/Kap are off gonna makes it really hard for them to win the game. I love my man Harry but I think he is going to find himself in some tough matchups in this deep league, how will he adjust and use his IQ remains to be seen. 

The Ugly: You up bid my man Evan so I can’t get him, then trade him, that is as ugly as it gets!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Ruining dreams!! Also when Harry played in sneakers without socks when he plays ball, holy fuck………………..holy fuck, I think this happened once but I never forgot, never !!!!. This is a dead horse issue but Civale must be engaged on the D end, or Kap/Harry are going to show an ugly side, which could lead to team issues. 

The Good: All very smart players on this squad, and they will really need to use that IQ, a lot to figure out, but I think if any group of guys can get the most out of themselves it may be this one. Love the defensive versatility of Liam/Joel/Ini/Kap could really disrupt the other team’s game plan. I don’t think I have seen a team with Kap not be top half of the league so history is on their side here. 

The Sexy: You ever look at Joels Shaffers Instagram, this dudes life is lavishhhhhhhhh, he travels the world, hits up raves, and almost has weekly heart attacks from red bull and vodka’s , my man out here living that sexy life. In my eyes, Defense is the sexiest thing in the world, and Harry has quite of few studs on that end, they gonna be in rock fights, and an ugly game is always sexy to me. 

Team Talbot: Dierkshied/Divine/Kerk/Walker/Orlinski 

The Bad: Losing Kraft to this squad could prove to be very costly. As volatile as he was when he was right he was a real difference-maker and quite the athlete. I see some issues with the 3 ball on this squad as well, might allow teams to pack the paint, and only lock in focus on Derkshied who is wettt! I like this team I don’t love this team, so I think they battle but come up short on most nights. 

The Ugly: If Walker/Kerk are out they could have some real size issues and could get pounded in the post as some of these teams are enormous. I do see some ugliness potential in their defense, I think they will get buckets, but will give up a bunch as well. 

The Good: If you have Greg Talbot then the team is going to compete at a high level, dude is all balls. Derkshied had his one-year adjustment and now might come to flame us, even more, this session, I love the idea of having the concrete block that is Walker setting screens for him getting him open. 

The Sexy: Kerk is a walking sex machine, and his captain knows, it that’s why he’s always throwing him the big bucks, making sure I can’t get this STUD. Kerk is everything that is sexy about the CAC great teammate/a great dude/ his hustle and energy are unmatched. 

Team Mazz: Cawley/Sydorko/Evan/Luigi /Drew!

The Bad: Not much bad with his squad, but I would say bench happiness, will these dudes be ok with very limited roles, Drew for one expecting to be on the floor contributing could lead to some negative vibes. 

The Ugly: I don’t want to pick on Luigi but he was in both of my drafts so I got a lot of intel on him. I heard he has trouble understanding his role and will force a lot of shots through double teams, which is not going to sit well with strong personalities like Mazz/Sydorko

The Good: mannnnnnn this team is nasty I think. The starting 4 is the strongest in the league IMO and the roles are clearly defined, going to be very hard to knock these guys off. Mazz drawing the D has so many options, he could get the bucket , dump down to Sydorko /hit Evan for trey/ or dime up Cawley on the wing, not going to be easy to deal with. There is defense here as well, Cawley/Evan/Sydorko this team can defend all areas of the court. YIKES!

The Sexy: Everyone knows when I walked in the goddamn door, that I was gonna order some Kodra. He is my basketball husband, and I don’t care how that sounds , actually, I will scream it from the mountaintop. I LOVE EVANNNNNNNNNNNN. 

Team Rosi: Frongi/Harding/Jacobs/Stull/Djorde 

The Bad: Pretty obvious here, bad that they couldn’t run back their ship team, they thought they could when Rosi switched to captain, but the league was smart and ended the run back! This team lacks some bulk outside of my man Djorde could be an issue against some of these bigger teams. 

The Ugly: Can Frongi continue this high level of play ? He was a walking fire ball in the finals, if he takes a step back, I think it could pose some real issues for this squad. The bench could have issues in this deep league especially if Djorde is out. 

The Good: What a fucking duo on Harding/Rosi teams are going to have to really pick their poison. Got the two best pure scorers besides Mazz on one squad, has to be a major strength and trouble for this league. The love the family aspect here, as the bond Rosi/Frongi has is infectious and usually spread great vibes to their squads, such as undervalued thing. 

The Sexy: I was very turned on last session watching Djorde getting my team 2nd chance after 2nd chance, after 2nd chance with his hustle and relentlessness, you give Rosi/Harding 2nd and 3rd chances , it has no choice but to be sexy.  

Team Keith: Gold/Oullette/ Young/David-Tar/ Jamaal

The Bad: I like the team Keith put together, but with his size, and the $$ he had , I expected him to create more mismatches with his team building, but we all have our own style. I don’t know Jamaal at all, but I didn’t love his stats, Young is my size, and David is not much bigger could lead to some very tough matchups, Jet, and me had this issue last session as we were a very small and def lead to some tough moments for us. This team also lacks some rebounding outisde of their cap. 

The Ugly: Ohhhhhhhh man, I am hoping Kieth has turned over a new leaf with his negativity, but he must deal with the ups/downs of the game better. Gold/Oully have strong personalities,and they are not going to be down with that shit. They must stick together or this could be as UGLY as it gets

The Good: That trio oh babbbbbby , I am so excited to watch Gold with some serious weapons at his disposal, Kieth getting him at 26$was such a fucking steal, I misread the market so bad I fully expected him to go for 35+, he will have a chip watch out! The Golden one p n roll with Redbarron causing open looks for automatic 3-ball hitter Oully. Could be the thing to bring this team to the promised land. 

The Sexy: Have you ever seen Kieths filming chops, he brings the SEX to the finals!! this dude is as dedicated to this CAC thing as any of us, and I love it, it’s about making these leagues as fun as possible for the whole community ! Also watching Oully/Gold pure form on those 3 balls is straight beauty whoops I mean Sexy!

Team JDM: Brett/Leblanc/Chas/Craig/JJ 

The Bad: Hard to do this for my own team but here we go. Obviously our team will be much different. My team was enormous in the last session, and now we are not so enormous. Going to take us a while to adjust and figure out the best way to flow/work together with this new open-playing style. Craig going to have to take some big leaps for us, and I am encouraged by this though as he got better every game last session, he’s getting back in shape watch out! JJ and I will have some tough matchups off the bench as this league is this deep and huge. 

The Ugly: Oh man if Craig is out, or gets hurt we got some major size issues. Not going to be easy for us with the bigger teams. We are ready to scrap though! 

The Good: We have a fucking superstar trio of our own. In the finals it was glaring, we needed another 3pts shooter/ and facilitator, and we got both of those things in the man that we call Darth Leblanc. Leblanc is known to get the best out of guys, and if he can get even more out of Brett/JDM that we saw last session, holy fuck we may be cooking with gas! 

The Sexy: First off did you see Hitmans hair cut last session,……….. enough said kid is sex. Have you ever looked into JDM’s eyes?……………..Its like hearing the Beatles for the first time. For real the real sex is that CAC basketball is backkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk, my nipples are cutting glasssss!!!

Team Mac: Koller/Titties/Willy/ Frank/Cavano 

The Bad:  3pts shooting would be an easy thing to question on this team, teams could really pack the paint and make things tough on them. Spacing with also be interesting see how Mac/ Titties cans share the court as they have similar playing style if I can remember , could lead to some cluster fuckiness. 

The Ugly: No true PG, so it may take a few weeks for this team to find rythm/ and nice open looks. I could see them really struggling out of the gate having an ugly start to the session. No idea on willy, he could be ugly there’s no way to tell right now. 

The Good: I think this team will be very underrated on D, I think they can match up with anyone on that end, and that could be the staple of this club. Koller/Chirs are very mobile big me, and I see the getting a ton of transition buckets with all o them running the floor together. 

The Sexy: Koller was a huge part of getting me my 1st ship in like 5 years so he knows I stalk him,………you’re new furniture looks great from your living room window!! When you have Frank Mals on you’re team its going to be a fun awsome session,and that’s pretty darn sexual to me. 

Post Draft Power Rankings That will Make Everyone Mad at me

8.Talbot

7.Harry

6.Kieth

5.Mac

4.Xavier 

3.Hart Foundation

2.Rosi

1. Mazz

Ranking the Franchise B League Titles

by Jason on Jan. 17, 2023

FRANCHISE TITLE RANKINGS

by FRONGI

Had trouble sleeping last night and this was rattling around my brain so figured I’d put it out there for the world to see. A ranking of all the Wednesday Franchise (formerly Franchise B) champions. Since Covid there hasn’t been an A draft league which has resulted in this league becoming somewhere between a traditional A and B league. 

13) Winter 2018: Scumbaginario. Rankled last due to one of the all time scumbag draft league moves – bringing in a good rookie with a fake name so other captains wouldn’t know who he was, and signing him on the cheap. Fuck off.

12) Spring 2019: Cream Team 3-6 Cawley/Bernstein/Agozzino/Dennis/Cervini. How did this team win a championship? This is a testament to Cawley, truly. Cinderella run, Cinderella story, but not one of the better champs.

11) Spring 2017: Mean Machine 4-5. McDonald/Coburn/Carlucci/Spaulding/Rubin. Rode defense to a title run in the playoffs. Not the best session talent wise.

10) Spring 2016 Vandelay 5-4: Tenney/McCusker/Frongi/Weindling. And you thought I would be a homer and put my teams near the top! Benefited from Seitz absence in semis, but the other top teams were no joke. Some fun duos in this first Franchise B session. Beat Rosiello/Koller in the finals, but if they hadn’t knocked off Fermon and Cawley for us it may have been a different story.

9) Winter 2017: The Second Coming 6-3. Howard/Bradshaw/Barto/Kari. Best team of a relatively weak session where the top guys were spread out on different teams. Keith could get buckets though. 

8) Winter 2019: Hold my Dirk 6-3 McDonald/Haas/Coburn/Walker/Sheff/Doyle. +10 point differential. Good team, average session for the league. The whole of this team is as better than the sum of its parts. Points off for losing in the first round of the very next session with the EXACT same team. All 6 guys! Plus they had other versions of similar teams one or two other times that also fell short, so can’t bump them up higher then this.

7) Fall 2017: Vandelay Industries 6-3. Koller/Joel Shaffer/Frongi/Jet/Cundall. Benefited from Cavano absence in the finals. Average talent session. Can’t be ranked any higher when I had to drop 30 to win in the finals!

Starting with #6 is where I see a jump in quality.

6) Fall 2019: Basket Cases 5-4 Hof/Koller/Buckley/Cundall/Sheffield. Hof missed a bunch of regular season games, hence the 5-4 record. Supporting cast was a great fit for Hof.

5) Spring 2018: I’m the Kaptain 5-4. Hof/Kap/ Walker/Dennis/Rubin. Barey beat a 3-6 team without McDonald in the finals, as well as other teams knocking off the 9-0 and 8-1 regular season teams. But Kap also dropped 40 to win without Hof in the semis. Very similar to team #6.

These top 4 teams were all very good and the order could be mixed although I am confident in #1.

4) Fall 2018: DXL 9-0. Hof/Cawley/Walker /Dennis/Sisko. Only undefeated champs in league history. Strong team, literally. +10 point differential. Might be getting under-ranked here. They lack a secondary three point threat or a third “scorer” but the results speak for themselves.

3) Fall 2016: Vandelay 8-1. Cawley/Gans/ McCusker/Frongi/Cundall. Dominated the league, beat every team, +13 ppg, beat Rosiello and Fermon in the semis without McCusker. Peak 20’s versions of all players, Gans and McCusker 45% from deep.

2) Spring 2022: Uncle Drew’s Boys 5-5 Hof/McDonald/Cavano/Calderan/DTO. The Tuesday A draft did not return post Covid, leading to the Wednesday Franchise B becoming a tougher league than ever before. This team took down a previously undefeated team with Tenney/Harding which isn’t easy to do. Other champs had better records but in weaker leagues with weaker teams in my opinion. Cavano as a #3 to Hof and McDonald wouldn’t have been possible in the past. Willing to overlook the record a little bit. 

1) Fall 2022: Cavano Soup 6-3. Rosiello/ Ouellette/Cavano/Frongi/DTO. This was the toughest session so far. You had the two headed monster of Brett and JDM, superstar Lisella, deep Kraft&Friends, and the Mazz/Lithio duo. In the past a duo like JDM and Brett or Eric and Ryan would not have had much help, but with the talent this past session both teams had guys who could contribute 1-6. Again, having two top 8 guys plus Cavano just wasn’t possible prior to Covid.