French Lick - finally, Hildy found a home in the money spot. After a few narrow misses he claimed a place at the dinner table. Sure, it's not the penthouse and he doesn't have the green jacket - but it's a good step forward. French used many different players this season and maybe most notably - very few of them were Celtics. Because he didn't have to factor in what his heart was telling to do - he was able to focus on the squad and his rock was Timmy Duncan. 73 man games for the aging veteran. Gone are the days of 20 and 10 but Timmy is still a solid horse to have on the team. And Hildy brings back one of the top keepers in the JBL in Stephen Curry so he is primed for another big year in the JBL next season.
Idaho - 3rd place??? Holy cow! He went from worst to 3rd? Tuna wasn't able to protect a single player on draft night yet somehow drafted a very good team; made some decent trades; signed some quality FA's; and ended up in 3rd place. Well done young one. I think there is one name that can pretty much explain a great deal of Idaho's success - Dwight Howard. His monstrous season was the backbone of the Idaho squad. Now, that being said, Idaho did manage to bring some other serious talent on his roster throughout the season. The Pimps employed Lebron, Monta, D-Rose, D-Williams, Paul Pierce, Iguodala, Kevin Martin and others during the season. That's some serious all-NBA talent. Has Tuna figured it out? Does he know what it takes to win the big prize? I guess we'll see how Tuna does next season as he will be able to protect 4 players for next year's draft. Good luck Tuna. And the best of all, Idaho plays for free next year as Golden will be paying his entry fee due to a side-bet that Anthony cleaned up on.
Bangkok - 2nd place. I know everyone is expecting me to tear the house that Rick built down to the ground. I'm not going to do that. Look, bottom line, Bangkok led the JBL for 20 weeks. It wasn't until week 21 that Seoul overtook him and never looked back. Up until that time, Bangkok was being talked about as maybe one of the greatest JBL teams of all time. So yes, Rick had a good year. But it was a 2nd place year. Rick's statement that his point total remained around 1100 all year is valid - but when you don't win - that doesn't matter anymore. Would you rather have 1100 points and finish 2nd or have 880 points and win the JBL title??? The point is - the JBL (and any fantasy pool) is about winning it all. Finishing 1st. Claiming a crown. It's not about consistently finishing in the top 6. It's not about never finishing last. It's about one thing....
So yes Rick, your team had a good year. You finished 2nd. You will remember that. The rest of us will remember another Seoul victory and how he passed you at the end of the season to claim his 3rd straight title and his 5th overall. The only question left - did you do everything possible to try and counteract Phil's rise in the standings when it looked like he was in a position to pass you?? If you think you did - then you should be able to sleep at night. Because if you had gone wire to wire for your 1st JBL title - or even just managed to pull it out and win on the last day - you may have had another title to your mantle....
Seoul Brothers - 3rd in a row. 5th overall. 4 of the last 6 titles! The Burmese Man has done it again. He's now public enemy #1 in the JBL. He's the King. He's got the secrets. And it never hurts when EVERYTHING he touched this year turned to GOLD. He signed Marcus Thornton as a FA for $3 bucks and the guy averaged over 21ppg for Seoul. He grabbed Jordan Crawford off the waiver wire too. He drafted well. He traded well. He signed FA's. And he got lucky in some regards. Yes, Philly Woo, you've done it. You've become the Gold standard in the JBL and the rest of us are all chasing you. Well done. The 20th season of the JBL will be remembered not for Golden's 12th place debacle or the fact that Bangkok couldn't hold a lead. It will be remembered for Seoul's dominating performance where you were 1st in three categories; 2nd in three categories and 7th in ATO. Your point total was 1183 and the team you put together in 2010/11 was the BEST JBL team of all time. Yes, I said it. "Best of all time". And everyone who finished below you in the standings - whether they were 2nd or 13th - we just didn't measure up. You are the new JBL King. You are the Prime Minister. Chief Poobah. High Commander. You are the President and we are your auto-tuners...
Well boys, that's all for now...up next....who has the best keepers for next season...stay tuned.
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