2015 Football Champs: Punching Donkeys

In a rematch of the 2009 championship, C’s Punching Donkeys once again triumphed over Beaver Damn! by a final score of 97-90. In doing so, the Donkeys not only became the first back-to-back football champs in Idle Time fantasy sports history, but, with their third overall title in the sport, they join the ranks of the Idle Time elite.

Only the Donkeys (football), Pine Tar Heroin (baseball), and The Fundamentalators (basketball) have three trophies in a single sport.

Although it was a balanced effort up and down the lineup, Punching Donkeys put the pressure on early with a 30-point performance from Kirk Cousins on Saturday night. Cousins, who C modestly called “a midseason bye week replacement,” is yet another example of the kind of waiver wire magic and free agency resurrections that have become the hallmark of the Punching Donkey dynasty.

2015 Baseball Champs: Pine Tar Heroin

This year’s championship bout was a rematch of the 2007 finals between Pine Tar Heroin and 23. That trophy went to 23 in a rather decisive 8-4 victory. This year, however, PTH got their revenge after holding on to a nailbiting, tightly managed matchup. When the dust settled after the Sunday night game between the Cubs and Pirates, Pine Tar had a 7-6 edge and their fourth Idle Time baseball title.

2015 Basketball Champs: Locusts

Will’s Locusts took home their second Idle Time basketball trophy this year, one championship shy of Matt’s fundamentalors for the most basketball titles.

The second playoff round featured a rematch of last year’s title match against those selfsame fundamentalators, and it went right down to the last game on Sunday. Matt recounted the agony in a prior post.

To which Will responded:
You nailed it! I was monitoring your moves and hoping you wouldn’t notice that I slid Scola back in my lineup. I was a little crazy and end of the Pacer game hoping that Scola would be benched and not commit a turnover. Being a Kings fan, I’m very familiar the “don’t fuck it up!” cheering.

A Brief History of Idle Time Fantasy Trophies

like a little pewter pat on the back

In 2010, after winning the Idle Time baseball league, I bought myself a trophy.

Yeah. I know how that sounds.

But winning these leagues is hard. It’s a freaking achievement. And the season prior was the last time that Yahoo offered the optional League Champion Bobblehead as a premium add-on to its fantasy baseball service. Nothing in 2010. I had to fend for myself. And for twenty bucks (less than what Yahoo used to charge) I ordered a sweet little pewter-headed slugger. And it’s personalized, no less.

Many of you long-time Idle Timers might remember, but for the newbies: all the snazzy content that Yahoo provides for fantasy sports enjoyment wasn’t always free. In 2006, they debuted their Fantasy PLUS service for football and, later that year, for baseball (but never basketball — always the neglected stepchild, the Godfather III of fantasy sports). For $130 per league, every manager enjoyed such features as scouting reports, a record book for virtual in-season achievements, a StatTracker for “watching” games, and… a league trophy, mailed to the winner’s door several months after sealing the deal.

2014 Football Champs: Punching Donkeys

originally posted on the League Page by Matt Di Gino:

For the first time in the 11 year history of Idle Time football we have a repeat champion. I’d like to have us all pause for a moment and reflect on what a testament to parity and competitive balance that is. It speaks volumes about the leadership that you are all enjoying. Technically last year was the first repeat franchise, but with a completely different manager, this one is more deserving of praise.

How did the Donkeys do it? He’s an adaptor. A mere 5 years removed from his first title, an entirely revamped roster with the exception of P-Rivs easily crushed the cocky Ball-Licking co-managers from Hastings Law. And he did it with Lamar Miller. While Tenacious O wallowed in another playoff-less campaign reluctantly dragging Reggie Kardashian onto the field every week, PD plugs Lamar Miller in and gives him the proper motivation and guidance to excel.

Lamar Miller…

really makes you think.

2014 Baseball Champs: Henry Rowengartner

For the second time in their history, Henry Rowengartner outlasts the competition to claim top honors in the Idle Time baseball league.

After spending most of the season in first place, thanks in large part to the bat of Jose Abreu and the legs of Billy Hamilton, Sherice’s crew relied exclusively on pitching throughout their two-week postseason.  In fact, Henry Rowengartner bested Jimmy’s Choo and a Half Men in the Championship Round despite batting .193 with a paltry 18 runs and one stolen base.

Going into Sunday night’s Cardinals-Reds game, Choo held all seven batting statistics, while Rowengartner held all seven pitching stats (by the way, since 2010, Yahoo’s playoff tiebreaker is no longer ERA, but regular season record). Jay Bruce broke out of a recent slump with two homers in that nightcap, tipping the scales in favor of the eventual champs, 8-6.