Three-Down Drama: Sean Culnan (left) mulls over his coaching options for Winnipeg vs. Grant Fines (right) coaching Calgary in the , second-round, Canadian version of the "Fab Finish" tournament. Randy Coryer (center) watches.
We updated the "Fab Finish Football" rules for SECOND SEASON in the June newsletter, and added a Canadian Football version. Our tournaments used standard game play rules, but the "Fab Finish" Late-Game Scenario Generator set the stage for the final minutes of play, and only the END of the game was played. For this event, we used the "Fab Finish" Scenario Generator to re-play the 2017 pro football play-offs—both Canadian and American—using the actual playoff fields, to see how our version differed from the real thing.
For the American (NFL) component, everyone chose one of the eight 2017 "wild card weekend" teams: Los Angeles, Atlanta, New Orleans, Carolina, Buffalo, Jacksonville, Kansas City and Tennessee. For the Canadian (CFL) component, it was a choice of Saskatechewan, Ottawa, Winnipeg and Edmonton.
Each game started with five minutes left to play. The winning coaches advanced to the next round; losing coaches chose a NEW team from among the "bye week" teams: Philadelphia, Minnesota, New England, Pittsburgh, Toronto and Calgary. We again set all games with five minutes to play. Winners continued on, all the way to the championship games!
Our COLD SNAP participants included Keith Curtis, Randy Coryer, Grant Fines and Sean Culnan. SECOND SEASON participants were Dale Buckingham, David Kaufmann, Chris Day, Travis Jansen, Mike Boling George Adams and Keith Avallone.
Fab Finish Football: COLD SNAP
Semi-Final Round
- Winnipeg 40, Edmonton 35 (Trailing 35-32, the Bombers marched down the field for the winning score.)
- Ottawa 27, Saskatchewan 23 (Tied at 20-20, the Riders put together a drive that resulted in Crapigna's 25 yard field goal. But the Stamps responded with a last-minute game-winning drive, Harris finding Stanley on a 6-yard touchdown pass in the final seconds.)
Final Round
- Winnipeg 31, Calgary 28 (A wild ending that required three overtimes to settle! The Bombers kept the Stamps off the board in the third OT, and won it on a 40-yard Medlock field goal.)
- Ottawa 18, Toronto 17 (Another crazy ending! Score tied at 17 in final seconds. RedBlacks Maher punts into the end zone, Toronto unable to get the ball back out; the single point sends Ottawa to the title game!)
Championship Game
- Ottawa 34, Winnipeg 33 (Trailing 33-31, Ottawa's Maher was again the hero, booting a 25-yard field goal with 2:47 to play. RedBlacks defense stopped a late Bomber drive to seal the championship win!)
Fab Finish Football: SECOND SEASON
Surprise Champion! Winning coach Dale Buckingham holds up the SECOND SEASON team card for tournament champion Jacksonville as Carolina coach David Kauffman nods in admiration.
Wild Card Round
- Carolina 32, New Orleans 30 (Gano kicks 37-yard FG as game ends.)
- Atlanta 36, Los Angeles 33 (Bryant FG breaks 33-33 tie, late Falcon interception kills Rams drive in Falcons territory.)
- Jacksonville 28, Buffalo 27 (Lambo's 32-yard FG with :04 to play wins the game for Jags.)
- Kansas City 27, Tennessee 26 (Succop's 49-yard FG draws Titans to within a point, but KC defense makes the thin lead hold up with last-minute turnover.)
Divisional Round