It's crazy to me that we're headed into Year 17. If our league was a girl, Parise would have snuck it in through the back door of a party. That may have happened years ago, but I digress. With Nick finally claiming his elusive Chef's Coat last year, that leaves us with Barnard, Marco, and Zacherman wearing street clothes at the draft this year. As you will see below, it is truly surprising that Marco or Z has not one yet. As you will also see, it is not surprising at all that Barnard has not won.
Ahead of Rivalry Week and the Division Draft (captains: Nick, Alan, Esco), I wanted to update the blog for this season with the usual stats.
As always, we start with PAA (Points Above Average) per season. Not that you need a reminder but this is the points above (or below as 5 of you are!) league average, summed up over the number of years you were in the league. Longevity can be a good thing (Zacherman) or a bad thing (Alan), but I think it does the best job of ranking the league by skill.
Results heading into 2025:
Still shocking to see our only 3-time champ in the mud with the Kimmels of the world, but that's how fantasy goes. It's probably a good thing overall that our currently active league makes up the top 12 of the league, and a 116 point gap between Bruno and second-to-last place seems about right too.
Based on the chart above, here are Division Draft Tiers:
1. Blue Balls: Levine, AGD, Zacherman, Esco, Kumpf, Marco
In any given year, 3 of the top 5 teams by points scored are likely to come from this group, however between us we only have 4/16 titles. We all have our drafting and trading quirks, but you are unlikely to see this group in the Shot Spot. Esco is probably the most volatile, and with Marco's trading literally anything can happen.
2. Participation Trophies: Nick, Bennett, Barnard, Weissbard
These teams hover around average overall, but they get here drastically different ways. Weissbard embodies Ricky Bobby, Bennett does exactly as well as the Eagles do, Nick is either quiet or mean, and Barnard will never win.
3. Thanks Obama: Gutman, Ajay
With three titles and five Stevens Bowl appearances between them, the upside has been there, but not for the last five years. Outside of a brief Gutman blip when he was having kids and not actively managing his team, these teams haven't been consistent playoff performers.
4. Volatility Personified, but usually bad: Alan, Billy
You are either getting a top 3 or bottom 3 finish from these teams. Five titles and seven Stevens Bowls between them, but by far the lowest PAA/Season of active teams. Billy's placement makes sense, as his strategy is well documented. Alan remains a mystery that may not be unraveled until the documentary about this league is made.
Overall points scored for posterity and so I can continue my streak of being first in one of my made up stats:
See you all next week.
