"Fear The Deer" 2021-22 NBA Season for Statis-Pro Basketball

"Fear The Deer" 2021-22 NBA Season for Statis-Pro Basketball

2020-21-Eastern-Conference.pdf

2020-21-Western-Conference.pdf

Other Statis-Pro Basketball Links

3 and D Rules and Small Ball Guidelines

(Carded for the 3 and D ruleset I used for the 2020-21 Season)  Note- this was the pandemic era, and so regular home court advantage was affected by this disruption.  

Here in May 2026, the early NBA Playoffs, the Story is how Kevin Durant has underachieved in the first round yet again, as his team, the Houston Rockets fell to 0-3 in their opening series against the injury depleted Los Angeles Lakers. Rockets management may respond to to an early playoff departure with firings and trades, but a big part of the story for them has been injuries. Fred VanVleet, Steven Adams and Durant have simply not been consistently heathy enough to compete; it's easiest to blame the team’s star player, but there's usually enough blame to go around a failed roster and their coaches.

But Durant's struggles harken back to an earlier time, where he was part of a particularly fragile superteam.  The 2020-2021 Brooklyn Nets had Durant (26.9 ppg, 7.1 rpg, 5.6 apg), James Harden (24.6 ppg, 8.5 rpg, 10.9 apg) and Kyrie Irving (26.9 ppg, 6.0 apg), and they forged their way to a 48-24 record in spite of the fact they were able to spend time on the court together in only 15 regular season games.  Brooklyn was loaded with shooters, with Joe Harris ("Joey Buckets"), Jeff Green,LaMarcus Aldrige, and Blake Griffin also on the roster, and they finished second in the league in points per game, trailing only the eventual champion, Milwaukee. These two teams faced each other in the second round of the Eastern Conference playoffs, with both Irving and Harden out, and in Game Seven of their series Durant nearly put his team in the next round single handedly, as a potential game winning three pointer was waved off after review to just a game-tying two point basket, and Brooklyn lost in overtime. With just a slightly smaller sneaker Durant would have won this series.  Thus began The Story of How Durant Has Failed in the Postseason Without Steph, a story that continues today, unfair as this might be. But one thing that becomes apparent to the Statis-Pro replayer is that a lot of teams in this set can win this playoff slate.  Brooklyn, given any health at all, is one of them, although getting the ball in everyone's hands efficiently is a challenge on offense, in the game, just as it was in real life.                 

  

2020-2021 NBA Playoffs

milw 4 mi 1 milw 4 bkln 3 milw4 atl 2 milw 4 pho 2

blln 4 bos 1

atlanta 4 knicks 1    atlanta 4 philly 3

philly 4 wash 0

denver 4 portland 2   

pho4 lakers2 pho 4 den 0  pho 4 clippers 2 

clippers 4 dallas 3   clippers 4 utah 2

utah 4 grizzlies 1

Eastern Conference - Seedings

1 - Philadelphia (49-23) 1st Place, Atlantic Division

This was the era of "The Process" where studious attention to the standings (i.e. tanking) gave Philadelphia a pair of back to back high draft picks, C Joel Embiid and PG Ben Simmons.  The plan was to build an eventual champion, and to Tobias Harris, Danny Green and Seth Curry they had added Embid, Simmons, Tyrese Maxey and Matisse Thybulle. Up until the aecond round of the playoffs, it looked like The Process was being followed.  The 76ers were second in the league in defense, but, tellingly 13th on offense, and this turned out to be fatal to their hopes.  The Sixers handled business 4-1 over the Wizards in round one. But Philadephia had not made it to the Eastern Conference Finals in twenty years, and they missed again, as they were upset in humiliating fashion in the second round of the playoffs by the fifth seed Atlanta Hawks. The Hawks rallied from 18 down to win Game 4 and tie the series 2-2, and then they led Game 5 by as much as 26 points before the Hawks came back from 104-94 points behind with 4 minutes to go with a 13-0 run to win again.  Philadelphia took Game 6, but lost at home in a tight affair in Game 7.  A collapse like this needs a scapegoat, and in this case it was Philadelphia Simmons, who was criticized by NBA observers for scoring only 5 points with 13 assists in the key loss.  Late in the game Simmons passed up a wide open dunk with his team trailing by two; later his coach, Doc Rivers expressed doubt in Simmons as a Championship-level floor leader under post-game questioning.  Simmons had played in three All-Star games and was an outstanding defender and playmaker, but he held out the next year rather than playing for the 76ers. Game 7 would be the last game Simmons, Andre Drummond and Seth Curry would play for Philadelphia, and since the 2021 poost-seaspn collapse, the 76ers are still looking for that elusive Conference Finals with Joel Embiid as their leader. 

Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid

2 - Brooklyn (48-24) 2nd Place, Atlantic Division   

The Nets were brimming with talent, but unable to stay healthy during the season and the playoffs.  The Big Three of James Harden, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant played just 8 regular season games together.  No team had won a championship with their top three scorers playing together in less than 10 games since the 2000-2001 Lakers with Kobe, Derek Fisher and Shaq. The key man was Harden, who came over in a January trade and had the Nets playing at an 18-2 clip in clutch time with a 59 pct effective field goal percentage.  Brooklyn was only 9-11 when he sat.  The playoffs began with a 4-1 series win over the seventh seed Boston Celtics, with Harden and Durant leading the way.  This set up a semi-final match between the Nets and the also offensively powerful Milwaukee Bucks, and both teams held serve at home to set up a brilliant Game 7 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.  In the final seconds of regulation Durant hit what looked like a clutch three point fadeaway to give the Nets the lead with a second to play.  But a replay showed that a toe was on the line; the game went to overtime.  The Nets held a two point lead with 90 seconds to go but the Bucks scored twoce to take a 113-111 lead with forty seconds left. This time Durant, who had scored 48 points in the game, shot an airball, and Milwaukee held on for their first Game 7 win in a playoff series, having lost in seven previous tries.

By just this much the Nets missed advancing

3 - Milwaukee (46-26) 1st Place, Central Division 

To win a championship, you need a deep roster, and some unlikely heroes. Milwaukee blended both to field the highest scoring outfit in the NBA, and they were the first team to average 120 ppg since the 1984-85 Nuggets.  The Bucks were led by Center Giannis Antetokounampo and small forward Khris Middleton, but point guard Jrue Holiday saw his two-way stock rise throughout the playoffs, while outside sharpshooters such as Bobby Portis, Bryn Forbes, Donte DiVincenzo, Jeff Teague and Pat Connaughton reeled off three after three to fend teams off. Holiday came over in the offseason from the Pelicans in a tracde for Eric Caruso and was every bit the upgrade, while PJ Tucker came over at the deadline to add versatility. The Bucks swept the Heat in the first round, overcame Brooklyn in seven games in the second round.  They defeated the Atlanta Hawks after losing Giannis to a left knee hyperextension in the Eastern Conference Finals, and finally topped the the Phoenix Suns for their first NBA Championship in fifty years.  Giannis returned for the Finals and closed out the series with a historical performance, scoring 50 points with 14 rebounds to win Finals MVP. Nobody felt better about the outcome than coach Mike Budenholzer, who had been outflanked by adjustments by Toronto's Nick Nurse and Miami's Eric Spoelstra in last year's playoffs. 

Giannis won Finals MVP with the Bucks

4 - New York Knicks (41-31) 3rd Place, Atlantic Division

New team president Leon Rose and new coach Tom Thibodeau took the Knicks to their first postseason berth since the Carmelo Anthony era.  The Knicks were led on court by first-team All-Star PF Julius Randle, who led the squad in scoring, assists, and usage, and they made great use of rotational players such as RJ Barrett, sixth man Derrick Rose, and sharpshooter Reggie Bullock. They got back to their hard-nosed defensive ways, having held opponents under 100 points 24 times in the regular season, and leading the NBA in points allowed at 104.7 ppg.  They had a favirable first round match-up;  the Knicks had beaten Atlanta in all three regular season meetings.  But the team lacked playoff experience, and the Hawks' G Trae Young beat them in Game 1 at the Garden on a last-second floater, setting up a 4-1 series loss. As the two most difficult series match-ups for New York, Young would score 21 or more and Atlanta C Clint Capela corralled at least 12 rebounds or more in every contest.      

5 - Atlanta Hawks (41-31) 1st Place, Southeastern Division

The Hawks were seemingly out of the playoff picture at 14-20 when they fired their coach in mid-season, but new interim coach Nate McMillan turned them around in time to make their first playoffs since 2017 and only their second Conference Finals since 1970, when they were in the West.  They finished 27-11 behind the sharpshooting of G Trae Young and reserve Bogdan Bogdanovich and faced New York in round 1, where Young got hot and torched the defensive-minded Knicks while the Hawk defense did not allow 100 points at State Farm Arena.  The Hawks were then the architects of Philadelphia's demise, something that was not predicted before the playoffs due to their inexperience. 

Unfortunately for the Hawks they ran into a buzzsaw in the Bucks in the Eastern Conference Finals, who downed them in six games. The key was Game 3 where Atlanta lost their hard-fought home field advantage to Khris Middleton's fourth quarter 20 point outburst, and they lost Trae Young to a foot injury.  A very competitive series turned into a 2-1 Bucks lead.  With Young hobbled, Milwaukee C Brook Lopez and Middleton helped carry Milwaukee to a clinching Game 6 win in Atlanta.  Their progress from also-ran to one of the NBA's top four teams earned McMillan an off-season extension.

Trae Young was Lethal in the 2021 Postseason

6 - Miami Heat (40-32) 2nd Place, Southeast Division 

The Heat had some great pieces- F Jimmy Butler, C Bam Adebayo and G Victor Oladipo and G-F Duncan Robinson provided some long range support.  With Butler in the lineup Miami was 33-19, and they held opponents to 106.1 ppg.  But Miami had nowhere near enough three point firepower to keep up with Milwaukee in Round 1.  They had hoped that their prior playoff-tested defensive approach would be able to hold Giannis in check, but that was not to be.  Jrue Holiday also gave Butler a matchup he did not see in the prior year.  The Bubble Hangover from last year's extended playoff run also hit Tyler Herro hard, and he struggled throughout the season to find his shot.                         

7 - Boston Celtics (36-36) 4th Place, Atlantic Division

Boston had two All Stars, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, but they lost Brown to a wrist injury right before the playoffs, and the back end of the roster, comprised of recent draft picks, did not provide much hope for consistent production.  Their reward for winning the first playoff game was the seventh seed and a meeting with the mighty Nets, where the fans were at least treated to a Tatum-Durant scoring duel.  But the Nets had James Harden scoring 30 too, and they won convincingly in Round 1, 4-1. Marcus Smart emerged as a point guard during the series, however. 

8 - Washington Wizards (34-38) 3rd Place, Southeast Division  

The Wizards earned the 8th seed with a 142-115 Play-In victory over the Indiana Pacers (34-38).  The Wizards were powered by a vintage Russell Westbrook performance, as he averaged a season-long Triple Double: 22.2 ppg, 11.5 rebounds, and he led the league with 11.7 assists per game.  This was the fourth and last time in his career that Westbrook turned this trick.  Westbrook had a partner in scoring points, young SG Bradley Beal, who led the league in mid range fieldgoal attempts and averaged 31.3 points per game. The real story here was the first round matchup between Westbrook and Joel Embiid.  There was bad blood between them.  But Philadelphia was too much, in spite of Beal's scoring touch in a 4-1 Wizards series loss. 

Russell Westbrook

Western Conference- Seedings

1- Utah Jazz (52-20) 1st Place, Northwest Division

The Jazz had the league's best record for most of the season and the longest winning streak in the NBA at 11 games, along with two 9 game winning streaks.  But they were very reliant on three point shooting, making 16.7 triples pergame while averaging only 6.2 midrange shots, and this made them vulnerable to teams that played good switching defense.  They would become overly reliant on SG Donovan Mitchell (26.4 ppg); the team was only 1-6 when he shot more than 25 times.  On defense C Rudy Gobert qon his 3rd DPOY as he patrolled the baseline and specialized in double doubles. Gobert, Mitchell and PG Mike Conley were Western All Stars and Jordan Clarkson won Sixth Man of the Year while averaging 18.4 ppg off the bench. They easily handled the Memphis Grizzlies 4-1, but lost to the Los Angeles Clippers 4-2 after taking a 2-0 lead in the series. The real issue was the team's playoff defense- tops in the NBA against threes in the regular season, they stumbled to 117.7 ppg in the postseason. Utah beat the Grizzlies in the first round 4 games to 1 but they faltered against the Clippers and Paul George and Kawhi Leonard.     

                 A young Donovan Mitchell

2 - Phoenix Suns (51-21) 1st Place, Pacific Division

The Suns closed well last season, with an 8-0 run in the Bubble before just missing the playoffs.  They were ready to make the jump to contenders, and so they went out and obtained Chris Paul.  The Point God played at an All-NBA level, and he core of Paul, Devin Booker, DeAndre Ayton, and Mikal Bridges combined to miss only 6 games for the season.  The Suns played at a 35-10 clip from February to April as Paul and Booker gave Phoenix an unmatched mid-range game. The Suns ousted the defending Champion Lakers behind the tough shooting of G Devin Booker and then swept the Nuggets to make it to their first Conference Finals since 2010. There they met the Clippers, and advanced to their first NVA finals since 1993 behind a clutch 51 point performace by the Point God, Chris Paul. Milwaukee and Giannis turned out to be too much for them, as they lost the Finals in six.  Phoenix would win 64 games the next year, and clinch their fist number 1 spot in the West for the first time since 2005.     

Chris Paul, The Point God

3 - Denver Nuggets (45-27) 2nd Place, Northwest Division

After their run to the Western Conference Finals in 2020, the Nuggets started only 6-7, but C Nikola Jokic launched his 2021 MVP campaign with four triple doubles in the first six games.  They picked up Orlando's Aaron Gordon to provide front court support and defense at the trade deadline, and even losing PG Jamal Murray to an ACL injury could not prevent the team from finishing with the third seed.  They were rewarded with a rematch of last year's playoff series with the Portland Trailblazers. An overtime 147-140 win in Game 5 for the Nuggets, overcoming 55 points from Damian Lillard, allowed Denver to advance, as they won the series in 6 games. But the Nuggets were swept by the scorching Suns in the second round. 

The Joker won his first MVP in 2021

4 - LA Clippers (45-27) 2nd Place, Pacific Division

The Clippers shot the three at a historic pace, with Paul George and Kawhi Leonard looking like a dominant duo, and when they were locked in and passing well, too, nobody shot the three better than the Clippers.  Their first round matchup was the Mavericks- a team they had lost to by fifty one points earlier in the year.  the Mavs moved out to a 2-0 series lead behind a pair of Luka Doncik 30 plus point efforts, but Leonhard pulled the Clippers even by winning two in Dallas.  The Mavs won their third at the Staples Center, but Leonard and George combined to take the last two games for a 4-3 series win. Against Utah, Kawhi Leonard matched up with Donovan Mitchell, and it was Paul George who won the key game 5 in Utah with 36 points and 16 rebounds.  The Clippers trailed by as many as 22 points at home in Game 6 in the third quarter, but bounced back to enter the fourth quarter down by only 3.  LA carried on to win game 6 and became the first team to recover from being down 2-0 in the same playoffs, reaching their first Confernece Finals in franchise history.  There the Suns held serve in games 1 and 2, winning on a last second inbound pass and dunk and 29 points from Cameron Payne in game 2.  The Clippers won game 3, but missed twelve straight shots in the fourth quaeter that would have tied the game in a 84-80 loss.  The Clippers won game 5, but Phoenix won game 6 on Chris Paul's career high 41 points. A great run by the Clippers came up just short of the NBA Finals.     

                               Paul George

5 - Dallas Mavericks (42-30) 1st Place, Southwest Division

The Mavericks were hit hard by COVID and were five games under .500 in early February before finally righting the ship to play .673 ball to finish in the middle of the Western playoff slate.  Luka Doncic was an efficient floor leader, joining only the Trailblazers' Damian Lillard as the only men in the top 10 in both scoring (27.7 ppg) and assists (8.6 a/g).  Doncic was aided by the hot shooting of Tim Hardaway Jr down the stretch.  Jalen Brunson and Dorien Finney-Smith established key roles in the Dallas rotation, helping to overcome the frequent injury absences of Kristaps Porzingis.  The Maveriscks were able to win three games at the Staples Center, but failed to protect their home court in the first round, losing three games at American Airlines Center in spite of 35.7 points per game from Doncic.  In the end, he did not have enough help from the rest of the lineup. After the season GM Donnie Nelson and head coach Rick Carlisle stepped down, and the team began a massive overhaul.    

6 - Portland Trailblazers (42-30) 3rd Place, Northwest Division

Portland dealt with season-long frequent injuries to CJ McCollum and Josuf Nurkic.  In response Damon Lilliard took the burden, and he took it brilliantly, correcting the team's trajectory and placing them in the playoffs.  The issue was the bench, as they continued to search for their best seven or eight players even into the post season.  Players such as Enes Kanter and Carmelo Anthony could provide some punch when Dame left the lineup to rest, but the team's defense would suffer.  This led to a first round 4-2 exit versus the Mavericks and Luka Doncic.

7 - Los Angeles Lakers (42-30) 3rd Place, Pacific Division

 

The Lakers had just 71 days to celebrate their Bubble championship run before the 2021-21 season started, and LeBron James got off to a very hot start to his 18th NBA season.  The Lakers were at or near the top of the standings early in the year before Anthony Davis suffered a calf injury and achilles tendinosis in hid right leg that sidelined him for nine weeks.  James suffered a right leg injury that cost him six weeks.  The front office battled with guard Dennis Schroder, and his inavailability cost the Lakers playoff seding; they had to win a play-in game to qualify to meet the Suns.  As a seventh seed, the defending champs faced a daunting task as only two seventh seeds had made it to the Finals since 1987 (87 Seattle and 99 NY Knicks).  

LeBron was still at the top of his game in his 18th season in the NBA

8 - Memphis Grizzlies (38-34) 2nd Place, Southwest Division  

With cornerstone Jaren Jackson Jr. sidelined, Memphis second year point guard Ja Morant and C Jonas Valanciunas (17.1 ppg, 12.5 rpg) were the keys to the team's hopes. They managed to oust San Antonio and the Warriors in the play in tournament including a great overtime win in San Francisco, but they were only 15-23 against .500 and above teams.  Dillon Brooks managed to keep Utah's Donovan Mitchell off balance in his return to the court in 16 games in the first game of their series in a 112-109 upset, but after that it was all that Jazz as Utah won the series 4-1.        

 

Original Date of Publication - 5/24/2026

Fred J. Bobberts           

“Run For The Roses” 2026 Kentucky Derby for Win, Place and Show

 

“Further Ado”, the SOM Forum’s Choice

Pdf version - 2026-Kentucky-Derby.pdf

wps_track.pdf

Needless to say, a small sampling of what could be a wide open field. Renegade is the favorite, but there are several excellent horses in this field. 

Renegade:

Pedigree: Into Mischief — Spice Is Nice by Curlin.

Foaled: Jan. 25, 2023.

2026: 2 starts. 2-0-0, $952,500.

2025: 5 starts. 2-2-1, $1,031,500.

Albus:

Pedigree: Yaupon — Adream by Bernardini.

Foaled: May 15, 2023.

2026: 2 starts. 2-0-0, $419,200.

2025: 4 starts. 2-0-1, $436,288.

Commandment:

Pedigree: Into Mischief — Sippican Harbor by Orb.

Foaled: Feb. 23, 2023.

2026: 3 starts. 3-0-0, $943,020.

2025: 5 starts. 4-0-0, $1,017,339.

So Happy:

Pedigree: Runhappy — So Cunning by Blame.

Foaled: April 26, 2023.

2026: 3 starts. 2-0-1, $444,000.

2025: 4 starts. 3-0-1, $480,000.

The Puma: 

Pedigree: Essential Quality — Eve of War by Declaration of War.

Foaled: Feb. 7, 2023.

2026: 4 starts. 1-2-1, $442,280.

2025: 4 starts. 1-2-1, $442,280.

Wonder Dean:

Pedigree: Dee Majesty — Wonder Siang Praw by Wonder Acute.

Foaled: March 25, 2023.

2026: 2 starts. 1-0-0, $655,000.

2025: 6 starts. 2-2-0, $770,541.

Chief Wallabee:

Pedigree: Constitution — A La Lucie by Medaglia d’Oro.

Foaled: Feb. 6, 2023.

2026: 3 starts. 1-1-1, $216,600.

2025: 3 starts. 1-1-1, $216,600.

Further Ado:

Pedigree: Gun Runner — Sky Dreamer by Sky Mesa.

Foaled: March 15, 2023.

2026: 2 starts. 1-1-0, $825,625.

2025: 6 starts. 3-1-1, $1,146,328.

I should point out 1 1/4 miles is 100 spaces and to get 8 horses to work you  need to “double stack” 3/4 and 7/8 and use (for example) a fast action statis pro baseball deck (bat numbers) for the first number to get 1-8 for the adder and the first horse to move in every turn. That 1-8 die will add 1 square to each horses move in each turn on average over the six horse standard field. 

Fred Bobberts

-Original Date of Publication 5/1/2026

More 1977 College Football Teams for SOM CFB

Chris Stewart did a fair number of 1977 College Football teams that are not affiliated to a Bowl Game, or they are unmatched with a Bowl Opponent. These are still great teams to add to the top Bowl teams that have been posted before:

Strat-O-Matic College Football Posts on this Blog:

Below are a few of his brilliant efforts: 

1977 NC State

1977-NC-STATE-FINAL-SOM-Cards.zip

The 1977 NC State Wolfpack football team, coached by Bo Rein, finished with an 8-4 record (4-2 in ACC), culminating in a 24-14 victory over Iowa State in the 1977 Peach Bowl.  Led by quarterback Johnny Evans and running back Ted Brown, the team ranked 19th in the final Coaches Poll. 

1977 Texas Tech

1977 TEXAS TECH FINAL-SOM-Cards.zip

The 1977 Texas Tech football team, led by coach Steve Sloan, finished fourth in the SWC with a 7-4 record and played in the 1977 Tangerine Bowl, losing 40-17 to Florida State. A key moment included star quarterback Rodney Allison breaking his leg in the third game of the season, which hindered the team's high expectations after a strong 1976 campaign. 

1977 Kentucky

1977-Kentucky-Final-SOM-Cards.zip 

One of Chris’s favorite teams in the set.  The 1977 Kentucky team under Fran Curci was one of the best, clearly, and had some iconic moments throughout. A 10-1 record reflects just how good the team was, but it doesn’t just stop with the record. One of the most stand-out moments of the season was the Border Battle game against Tennessee when the Cats defeated the Volunteers 21-17. Kentucky was ineligible to play in a bowl game due to being on NCAA probation, so with a rival game like Tennessee for their last game of the schedule, the Cats wanted to go out in style.

Derrick Ramsey, UK Quarterback

Kentucky entered the game with seven injured starters who were unable to play, and Tennessee had lost five of its six prior games.  With starting quarterback Derrick Ramsey out, backup Mike Deaton completed a 36-yard pass to Felix Wilson before the injured Ramsey made a comeback and let the Cats to a score.  All-American defensive end Art Still forced a fumble, which was recovered by Kelly Kirchbaum to seal the win for the Wildcats.  

Kentucky defeated two ranked teams that season in no. 4 ranked Penn State and no. 16 ranked LSU. In their first game of the season, the Cats were unranked, but by their third game against West Virginia, they sat at no. 17. By the time the season was all said and done, the 1977 team finished no. 6 in the country with one loss and an unblemished SEC record. Their only loss was to Baylor in Waco, Texas.

1977 Ole Miss

1977-Ole-Miss-Final-SOM-Cards.zip

In 1977, the Ole Miss Rebels football team, led by coach Ken Cooper, famously  upset top-ranked Notre Dame 20-13 on September 17 in Jackson, MS, handing the eventual national champions their only loss. The Rebels finished with a 6-5 record that season. 

1977 Syracuse 

1977-SYRACUSE-FINAL-SOM-Cards.zip

In 1977, fourth year Syracuse University football coach Frank Maloney was looking for improvement from 1976's disappointing 3-8 record.  The solution was to turn Archbold, which hosted its first game in 1907, into a fortress.

"It's come to the point where Archbold Stadium can be a great strategical advantage for us," said Maloney, who spent the summer sending a variety of inspirational literature to his players.

It might have worked both on and off the field.

Following a 38-0 loss to N.C. State to begin the home schedule, the Orange upset Washington 22-20 on a cold, wet afternoon at Archbold after Dave Jacobs 31-yard field goal with 23 seconds left. (the Huskies were quarterbacked by future Hall of Famer Warren Moon, and would beat Michigan in the Rose Bowl.)

Syracuse went 3-1 at home the rest of the season, losing only to No. 10 Penn State. In the final three games they held Virginia, Boston College and West Virginia to a combined 15 points.  The Orange finished the season 6-5.

Published with Permission 

Fred Bobberts 4-19-2026

Greg Minton 1979-81 - A practical application of Hondo’s Law

 

The Exception That Proves The Rule

Link to all Strat-O-Matic Baseball Content

This is the second post on the phenomenon of 0 home run allowed pitchers in SOM Baseball.  Greg Minton, of course is a legitimate data point, he suffered an injury that changed his delivery and made him nearly impossible to homer off of, for his career he only allowed .3 home runs per nine innings (a normal number might be 0.6 or 0.7 back then.). But the apex of this run was his years between 1979 and 1981, when he went over a thousand batters faced without allowing a home run.  Even someone who is very conservative by nature regarding exceptions to rules and complicated game flow has to stand up and look at this streak. It was not a big home run era in National League but still, that’s a Major League record. 

Okay, so we follow the steps. He’s a right hander so we pull the splits for each season for right handed pitchers versus both left handed and right handed batters, so we can rate him similar to a ball park rating. 

1979: Rhp:(from batter’s splits)

.Vs LHB 318 / 22961 = 0.01391

Vs RHB 637 / 28892 = 0.022048

1980 Rhp:

Vs LHB 365 / 24594 = 0.01484

Vs RHB 554 / 29649 = 0.018685

1981 Rhp:

Vs LHB 236 / 17105 = 0.013797

Vs RHB 315 / 19598 = 0.016073

The first thing you notice is this is not a big era for left handed power in the National League, and the strike year wasn’t brilliant for right handers either, Schmidt and Dawson both not withstanding.  So while Minton’s streak is long, the underlying league stats were also favorable. Let’s use the 95 percent calculation:

Ln(1-0.95) / lb(1- frequency above) = sample size

1979: vs LHB : 213.9   vs RHB: 134.4

1980: vs LHB: 200.4  vs RHB: 158.8

1981: vs LHB: 215.6  vs RHB: 184.9

Almost there. Now we use the Favorite Toy to impose a  probability distribution on the data strand from above:

1979: 

LHB: (213.9 / 132 - 0.5) * 20 = 22

RHB: (134.4 / 182 - 0.5) * 20 = 5

1980:

LHB: (200.4 / 154 - 0.5) * 20 = 16

RHB: (158.8 / 223 - 0.5) * 20 = 4

1981: 

LHB: (215.6 / 172 - 0.5)  * 20 = 15

RHB: (184.9 / 187 - 0.5) * 20 = 10

So these results are pretty interesting, obviously the 20 sided dice adjustments are less for left handed batters than right handed batters because left handed batters had less power in this era in the National League.  It takes more batters to be significant for zero home runs when their incidence is lower. Clearly his performance is much more significant against right handed batters.  

Minton      Vs LHB         Vs RHB

1979:          Auto                1-5

1980:          1-16                 1-4

1981:          1-15                 1-10

1980 in this context was his best season for avoiding home runs. 

Fred Bobberts, copyright 2026

Original Date of Publication 3/15/2026

“Hondo’s Toy” - Adjustments for 0 HRA Pitchers in SOM Baseball

 

Ted Abernathy, Our Inadvertent Hero

Link to all Strat-O-Matic Baseball Content

It’s that time of year, again, when a young man’s fancy turns to baseball, and old men argue about Strat-O-Matic rules and details. The discussion came up on Hondo’s Strat Forum about Ted Abernathy, a right handed pitcher who gave up no home runs to left handed batters in 143 batters faced in the 1967 NL.  The question is should he be able to “control” these left handed hitters on their cards, the same way batters are controlled on pitcher cards by the W and N designations. I’m generally against this, as I am most things contrary to the model - but let’s wait a bit.  

My usual objections to these kinds of adjustments, which are by the way very, very popular with replayers, are three-fold. 

A) Allowing 0 HRA is being treated as a Superpower, that is, an ability to change another player’s hitting, usually using twenty-sided dice, by denying him home runs (adjusting his card).  My contention is in most cases this 0 HRA pitcher’s scenario is mere random variation, that is, in any population of pitchers there will be a sub population of pitchers of normal talent who allow 0 Home runs for a more extended period, because, while it is unusual for this to happen, it’s not impossible. 

- The Example I gave was the 1978 AL, a league I know pretty well.  Two pitchers in the 1978 AL gave up  0 home runs on more than 143 BFP, including Victor Cruz of Toronto and Don Stanhouse of Baltimore, who made it to 352 batters faced, which is a pretty good number.  But there’s this part of me that also thinks that if you sent Jim Rice up there, he of the 400 total bases in 1978, that you couldn’t say, “Hey, you can’t homer off me, I’m Don Stanhouse.”  That’s perhaps a bridge too far. 

It’s imposing a deterministic view- “this result is zero in real life, so it has to be zero in the game”- on a game construct that’s meant to model possibilities. If you’re allowing Justin Verlander to face Babe Ruth in a game, there’s no real life data for that.  It’s all a model. 

I’m also of the opinion that a pitcher with 1 home run allowed in say 100-150 innings would be more of a unicorn than 0 HRA in 143 batters faced, so the use of a 0 home runs allowed standard is actually a bit arbitrary.  

B) The game’s general model does not allow one group of outcomes to cross over and affect another group of outcomes. What I mean by this is in real life the combination of Ozzie Smith and Terry Pendleton (and to some degree Tommy Herr) was absolute poison to right handed batters who tried to pull pitches and hit them on the ground in St Louis in 1985.  In some baseball models this would be reflected in their hitting capabilities and not just (as it is in Strat) on small sub segments on the pitcher’s cards. (I think Sherco actually did this with range and positioning).  

To me Ozzie’s fielding actually was a superpower, but it’s bounded very carefully in our game. A 0 home runs allowed pitcher who is allowed to negate batter’s home runs is not bounded at all, he impacts even a sixty-two home run hitting 2024 Aaron Judge. 

C) The entire model assigning cause and blame for hits and outs to pitchers, batters, and fielders, is just a construct, it did not come down from On High from the Burning Bush. I’m not saying it’s bad.  But there are constraints and compromises in any such model, and it’s against my nature to assign any one batting or pitching scenario to have any more weight than it needs in any simulation. 

So - let’s do just that.  Hondo actually did something interesting - he posed the question a different way, a way that made me less argumentative. He asked under what conditions would such a 1-20 twenty sided dice roll (adjustment roll) might be applicable, and what should it be?  That’s an entirely different question; it could be restated as “at what point, in terms of batters faced, does this scenario, 0 home runs allowed, become significant?  How do we apply relevant data to this? “

Now that question has a statistical model, you can use reliability analysis or AQL lot size type “0 defects” models, where the whole point is to sample for acceptance or denial based on the possible presence of a single “defect”.  A defect, here would be a home run, and what you’re testing for (or against) is the base frequency with which these were allowed.  

Let’s look at the 1967 National League: 

(Note: I’m using pitcher’s BFP and hitter’s PA more or less equivalently;  I know they are not exactly equivalent. BFP includes AB, W, H and reached on errors. Plate appearances include official AB, walks, hit by pitch, sac bunts and flies, and teaching base on fielder’s choices. They’re close, close enough for this estimate.)

The Data:  1967 NL

                              PA.      HR

Rhb versus rhp    24970   485

Rhb versus lhp.   14690.  276

Rhb:                    39660.   762         0.019213

LHB versus rhp.   17474.  282

LHB vs lhp.          3746.    56

LHB:                    21220.   338.       0.015928

At the batter level, right handed batters have more power in the 1967 NL.

 

Okay let’s look at this at the pitcher level:

1967 NL

                              PA.      HR

Rhb versus rhp    24970   485

LHB versus rhp.   17474.  282.    0.016138*

Right handers      42444.  767.     0.018071

Rhb versus lhp.   14690.  276

LHB vs lhp.          3746.    56

Left handers         18436.  333.    0.018062

choices.

So now you have two choices: 

A) level of confidence (90 percent, 95, 98, 99), in which case if you selected an outcome at that confidence you could be wrong on the cause Les and less frequently.  90 pct would be 1 in ten times, 99 pct would be one in 100. 

B) which of the above instances are the right percentages. Since we are looking at a right handed pitcher versus left handed batters I’ll choose 0.016138

Okay now let’s calculate the zero defects sample size, or the number of plate appearances with 0 HRA where we start to look at significance. Note that it’s about 4.2 PA per IP as a rough estimate; this is easily calculated from the league’s summary data. 

90 percent = ln(1-.90) / ln(1-0.016138) or 142 (dimensionless) 

(we don’t have a specific IP for Abernathy versus just left handers but if we did, this is about 34 IP with 0 HRA)

95 percent = ln(1 - 0.95) / ln (1-0.016138) or 184

98 percent = ln(1/0.98) /  ln (1-0.016138) or 240 

99 percent = lb(1/0.99) / ln (1-0.016138) or 283.  

As you look at higher significance the pitcher needs to face more and more batters in order for the 0 HRA to be significant at any given home run rate.  

Now let’s see what we get when we use my favorite toy to convert these findings to look at possible 20 sided die results for each level of significance. The favorite toy is an estimator that is going to place the probability of the adjustment at 50 percent for the first point that is significant at 95 percent confidence, and it can estimate the surrounding data based on that midpoint: 

At 90 percent confidence:

Opp BFP with 0 HRA : 

50 :  (142 from above /50) minus 0.5 = 2.33 times 20 = 47

47 is greater than 20, no adjustment to batter’s cards

This would be only 12 IP with no HR

100:  ((142 /100) - 0.5) = 0.915 times 20 or 18.

You would use 1-18 as an adjustment at 90 percent confidence for a pitcher with 100 homerless BFP.  Thus is about 24 homerless IP. 

143: ((142/143) -0.5) = 0.489 times 20 or 10. 

Ted Abernathy would be a 1-10 adjustment at 90 percent confidence

200: ((142/200) - 0.5) = 0.208 times 20 or 4

A pitcher with 200 BFP would use a 1-4 adjustment 

A pitcher with 250 BFP with 0 HRA would be 0.066 times 20 or 1.  The adjustment would be 1 in 20 on a 20 sided die.

Let’s try 95 percent confidence, often used as a standard 

50: (184/50 - 0.5)  = 3.18 times 20 equals 64

No adjustment 

100: (184/100 - 0.5) = 1.34 times 20 equals 27 

No adjustment 

143: (184/143 - 0.5) = 0.788 times 20 equals 16

Ted Abernathy versus LHB would use a 1-16 adjustment at 95 percent confidence.  Note the adjustment is higher (more favorable to a batter) at 95 percent confidence, but the chance there is another special cause would be half what it was at 90 percent. 

200: (184/200 - 0.5) = 0.421 times 20 = 8 

A pitcher with 200 BFP versus lhp with 0 HRA would be 1-8 for an adjustment to batters 

250: (184/250 - 0.5) = 0.236 or 5; 1-5 on a 20 sided die.

Let’s try 98 pct confidence: 

50: (240/50 -0.5) = 4.31 times 20 = 86 no adjustment 

100: 1.90 times 20 = 38 no adjustment 

143: 1.18 times 20 = 24 no adjustment

200: 0.702 times 20 = 14 1-14 on a 20 sided die 

250: 0.461 times 20 = 9 1-9 on a 20 sided die. 

Using this very high bar Abernathy would have no correction. 

99 pct: (Abernathy only) 

283/143 - 0.5 = 1.48 times 20 no adjustment 

So which one should you use? I think this is up to the user, but an interesting result happens if we use the 184 figure- this is the minimum level where significance could be presumed under this model. 

At 90 percent 

142// 184 - 0.5 equals .269, times 20 equals 5 1-5 on a 20 sided die for a batter home run- this is a pretty strong offset. It reduces batters card home runs by 75 percent. 

At 95 percent: 

184/ 184 - 0.5 or .5 times 20 = 10.  What this is saying is a significant result should mean a 1-10 adjustment, a 50 percent reduction.  This is the reference model for the Favorite Toy, the first significant point is a 50 percent reduction or 1-10. But it’s up to the user what their comfort level is. 

At  98 percent:

240/ 184 - 0.5 or 0.806 times 20 = 16.  The first level at which significance is observed results in a mild offset of a 20 percent reduction of the batter’s numbers (1-16). 

At 99 percent: 

283/184 - 0.5 or 1.04 times 20 = 21.  184 homerless BFP provides no adjustment but a slightly higher number would. 

If it was me, I would calculate the 98 percent numbers and use them to calculate my offsets. This way you can be reasonably sure the significance limits are met. For the Abernathy case it would be no adjustment. But I could also see using the 1-16 adjustment of the 95 percent confidence level calculation. 

Review- Steps:

Calculate the HR/PA fur the scenario you wish to adjust;

Select significance, 90, 95, 98 or 99

Calculate the sample level (ln 1- significance) / (ln 1- hr/pa) 

Calculate the 1-20 twenty sided die adjustment 

((Sample level / BFP with 0 HRA) - 0.5) times 20

Fred Bobberts 3/12/2025

“Northern Lights” Strat-O-Matic Pro Football cards for the 2025 CFL Season

 

Led by DB Rolan Milligan, Jr., Saskatchewan celebrates their win in the 112th Grey Cup

“Northern Lights”

Strat-O-Matic Pro Football cards for the 2025 CFL Season

CARDS Link to 2025CFL_print_rev4_v1_9_1.pdf

NEW! Improved link to 2025 season files / cards. 

Smaller file, cleaner, better format. Try windows print on “use printable area” and MAC on 98 percent. 

2025CFL_print_rev4_2026v5.pdf

New! Counters for these Teams: (Thanks, SJB!)

AND a colour-tiled version. 

2025CFL_DefensiveCounters_v1.pdf

2025CFL-Counters_V5_newColours.pdf

2025-Rosters.docx

QB Starts and CFL Schedule_2025.xlsx

Specific CFL_Penalties_and_Ejections_2a.pdf

Ejections_Chart for Game Misconduct Fouls (CFL Specific)

Fumble returns, Int returns, Rouges

CFL Final Raw Data

SOM PRO FOOTBALL LINKS

1981 CFL Retro Cards

Modern Format CFL Cards for SOM Football

For Stephen Beardslee, the genius behind the look and feel. 

Changes

It has been said that a quick turnaround in CFL team fortunes is often preceded by the hire of a hot offensive guru at head coach to match up with a new QB prospect.  This has been true in Ottawa in 2024 and Montreal in 2025, and it may prove true in Edmonton in 2026.  But it is also true that injuries and free agent losses can close a competitive window in Canadian Football just as quickly.  Nowhere was this more true than in Toronto, where off-season and post-Grey Cup raids on both sides of the Argo’s lines and the season-long 2025 absence of QB Chad Kelly denied the Boatmen a chance to repeat as champions.  Winnipeg lost its receiving depth, as standout WR Kenny Lawler’s move to Hamilton raised the bar for the Tiger-Cats and QB Bo Levi Mitchell. Excellent leaders such as Dru Brown of Ottawa and Zach Collaros of the Blue Bombers spent a lot of time on the sidelines, costing the Redblacks a possible playoff berth and the Blue Bombers a shot at their sixth straight Western Division title. Changes in both lineups and team fortunes were a constant in the 2025 CFL. 

In 2025, CFL Teams filled the sky with footballs 

Reappraisal

But for once in mid-season the big changes occurred off the field.  On September 22, 2025, CFL Commissioner Stewart Johnston announced that meaningful rules changes would be instituted over the next two seasons through a phased approach. The most significant modifications would come in 2027 with the goalposts being moved to the back of the end zone and the field being re-sized. In anticipation of these structural changes, and beginning in 2026, the rouge would be modified and adjustments would be introduced to ensure a more consistent game flow. 

CFL Commissioner Stewart Johnson

Reprisal 

These proposals started a firestorm of commentary, as people sought to both predict and place motives behind the actions. The overwhelming fear was that the Canadian game was being “Americanized” in an effort to make US Expansion a stronger possibility. A smaller field with more US friendly rules might be leveraged to place a tenth team somewhere in the Lower 48.  While expansion to a tenth team has long been the dream of many CFL fans, their ideal target locations would be somewhere in the Canadian Maritimes or in Saskatoon, out West. The idea that potential expansion might not include a National site thus infuriated long time fans of the Canadian sport. Rising political friction between the two nations had made this possibility untenable for many Canadians. 

There was more to it than just expansion, though. Canadian fields are used at the high school and collegiate level as well, and it was unclear at the time of the announcement what the plan might be for preparing and transitioning the existing lower levels of Canadian competition.  While the players came down on both sides of the issue, no less a critic than “Kid Canada”, Nathan Rourke, the BC quarterback and the preeminent Canadian-born CFL star, pointed out the real objection most people had was the lack of consultation with the various stakeholders before the decision was made. 

Resolution

The search for consensus in decision making is definitely uniquely Canadian; it will be interesting to see how these changes play out now that they are on paper and will soon take place on the field. 2025 is thus the last season we have with the nine traditional teams and (more or less) the traditional CFL rule set. The controversies did nothing to ruin the playing of the postseason- the Divisional games saw four outstanding and close contests, and the final between Montreal and Saskatchewan was a tremendous watch.  The victorious Roughriders of course are a classic franchise and are well-supported by their fan base, and their win put a bow on what had been an entertaining and competitive 2025 CFL season. 

Hamilton 11-7 

The 26 year winless streak continues.  The Tiger-Cats rode Eastern All Star QB Bo Levi Mitchell and a ball hawking defence to host the Eastern Finals, where it took the tough and opportunistic Montreal defence to hold them off 19-16 and deny them a Grey Cup appearance; the ‘Cats now still haven’t won the Cup since 1999.  Still, it was a great regular season.  Bo Levi Mitchell adeptly utilized former Winnipeg free agent Tim Lawler, who caught passes for over 1,400 yards and 14 scores, as well as his fellow receivers Tim White and Kiondre Smith, who also tallied over 1,000 yards each, to post a 5,000 yard passing season with a CFL- leading 36 passing major scores. Tailback Greg Bell chipped in 1,008 yards on the ground to give the team four thousand yard players. On defence Julian Howsare hounded enemy passers and the Hamilton secondary, led by All- Canada backs Jamal Peters and Stavros Katsontonis feasted on them, as the team led the CFL in interceptions.  

Hamilton’s Bo Levi Mitchell led the CFL in 2025 in passing yards and major scores

Montreal 10-8

The 2025 10-8 record for the Alouettes is deceptive; Montreal had some horses.  They had won the Cup in 2023 and finished 12-5-1 in 2024 before an error-prone loss to Toronto in the Eastern Finals, so much was expected from them in 2025. Behind new QB Davis Alexander the team won its first three games including the Eastern Final rematch with the Boatmen 28-10 in Week One. But Davis suffered from the injury bug, and after a 5-2 start the team stumbled behind three different backup quarterbacks to drop to 5-7, close to possible elimination. Through it all Canada’s top defence held firm.  Led by All- Canada LBs Tyrice Beverette  and Darnell Sankey, and safety Marc-Antoine DeQuoy, the Montreal defence allowed the least yards on the season. And when Alexander returned, the Alouettes started playing their usual brand of crisp error free football, as he spread the ball around to a group of talented receivers, led by All-Canada selection Tyler Snead, Tyson Philpot and Charleston Rambo. 

Montreal held off Winnipeg 42-33 in the East Semis and dropped Hamilton in a close one in the East Finals 19-16 to head to the Grey Cup to face Saskatchewan.  In Winnipeg in the Cup, Alexander thew three uncharacteristic interceptions in his first loss of his CFL career, and another late fumble cost the ALs the title. 

The Alouettes Defence, led by LB Tyrice Beverette, held firm all year. 

Toronto 5-13

What a difference a year makes! Defending champion Toronto lost starting QB Chad Kelly to a devastating injury before the 2024 Grey Cup, and perennial understudy QB Nick Arbuckle won the Championship with an MVP performance. But the off-season was disastrous for the Argos, as teams raided the Boatmen for experienced linemen and backs.  The depleted roster dropped close contests early in the year to start 2-8 in spite of a good year from Arbuckle. He threw for over 4000 yards and 26 touchdowns, but received little help from Canada’s worst running game or a defence that allowed 583 points. While Derek Slewa played an exciting brand of football in his first professional year at safety and on returns, and “Touchdown Jake” Herslow caught nine majors in six games, and rookie Kevin Mital had 102 receptions to tie for the lead in the CFL, problems up front doomed the Argos to a last place finish in rushing yards and sacks allowed.  Only a miracle 63 yard catch with one second remaining by Dejon Brissett to set up a Labour Day comeback win against the rival Tiger-Cats kept the defending champs from falling into the East’s basement. 

Ottawa 4-14

One year after winning a 2024 spot in the Eastern Playoffs, injuries, turnovers, and poor special teams play doomed the RedBlacks to last place in the East at 4-14.  The team featured a pair of Eastern All-Star receivers in Eugene Lewis and Justin Hardy, and a good young quarterback in Dru Brown, but Brown was frequently injured and threw more interceptions than is normally helpful, finishing at two wins and seven losses in his starts for the year. It was his backup, Dustin Crum who had the better season, as he won two of his six starts on his “no holds barred” scrambling ability. In both of his wins Ottawa came from behind; coining the term “Crumback”, which owing to its popularity, may be with us for awhile.  The offence did not get much help from runners William Stanback or Daniel Adeboboye, but I would not count either out in 2026. A lot of talent dots this roster, particularly on the defensive line, and if they can improve their league- worst pass rush and shore up their offensive line, they could be a winner once again. 

Both Geno Lewis and Justin Hardy made the 2025 East All Star team for Ottawa. 

Saskatchewan 12-6

Melonheads rejoice! The Saskatchewan Roughriders had lost the 97th Grey Cup in 2009 against the Alouettes due to a "too many men on the field" penalty on the final play, a costly (and infamous) illegal substitution that gave Montreal  kicker  Damon Duval a second chance at a game-winning field goal, which he made to win 28-27 after missing the first attempt. But they did not fail in the key moments in the 2025 112th Grey Cup. Nursing a 25-17 lead and with the Als inside their five, the Roughriders defence avenged that loss and forced and recovered a fumble by Montreal short yardage specialist Shea Patterson to clinch their first Grey Cup win since 2013. 

Saskatchewan’s roster was dotted with experienced players who, over their careers, have seen it all. Led by 39 year old signal caller Trevor Harris, who completed 72.3 pct of his passes for 4569 yards and 24 scores.  Harris has now been in the CFL for 13 years and has found a home in Saskatchewan and his intelligent and cerebral approach drove the Roughriders to championship heights.  Harris was able to leverage 1,000 yard receivers Dohnte Meyers and Keesean Johnson, allowing the team to overcome injuries to Mitchell Picton and Sam Emilus. The Riders had three All Canadian linemen up front in Jamarcus Hardrick, Jacob Brammer, and Logan Fenland, and they opened running lanes for A.J. Ouellette, who rushed for 1,222 yards and 8 major scores on the ground.  With so much veteran talent Saskatchewan was able to post the key major scores to gain the leads in both the Eastern Finals and the Grey Cup, and their defence, the best in the West and Canada’s toughest against the run, was able to make good in each contest to win the Championship. 

Saskatchewan’s rugged defence forced the biggest play of the 112th Grey Cup, a short yardage fumble at the goal line. 

BC 11-7

The Lions had two seasons- an early slow start that saw them drop to below .500 at 5-7, and then a 6-0 finish keyed by their defensive emergence and an explosive passing attack.  The defence was keyed by their pass rush, led by defensive player of the year Mathieu Betts, who topped the league in sacks with 15, just three short of his own CFL record; the passing attack was led by Nathan Rourke, the first Canadian quarterback to win the Most Outstanding Player award since Russ Jackson claimed it while playing with the old Ottawa Rough Riders in 1969.  

The 2025 MOP, BC Quarterback Nathan Rourke

BC added in two All-Canada receivers in Keon Hatcher and Justin McInness, plus a very dangerous downfield receiver in Ayden Eberhard and the underrated Stanley Berryhill III.  Jarell Broxton is one of the league’s best tackles, and James Butler (1,213 yards and 11 major scores) and Zander Horvath gave defences a running threat to worry about, too. BC was the only Canadian team to average over 8.0 yards a play, but their inability to run out the clock late against Saskatchewan cost them the Western Division Final and a Grey Cup berth. 

Calgary 11-7

With one off season move, it looked like the Stampeders might be on their way to the Grey Cup.  Following a November trade of draft picks with the Lions they picked up “Big Play V.A.”, thirty two year old former Oregon star QB Vernon Adams. Adams played in 17 regular-season games in 2025, posting an 11-6 record. He completed 280 of 429 passes – a 65.2-per cent success rate – for 4,247 yards, 21 touchdowns, and 14 interceptions. It was the second 4,000-yard season of his career. Adams also carried the ball 40 times for 332 yards, two touchdowns and a pair of two-point conversions.  The Stamps already had the CFL’s top runner by yards in Dedrick Mills, and a talented defensive front and secondary.  Mills, a 5’10’’ 238 pound back from Nebraska, gained 1,409 yards rushing with 11 major scores.  

Vernon Adams, Jr.

With their dangerous balance of running, downfield passing and defence the Stampeders raced out to an 8-3 start, just a half game behind Saskatchewan, and it looked like a home playoff game in McMahon Stadium was in the bag. Then the wheels game off- in one three game stretch Adams threw for only 6 touchdowns versus 11 interceptions, and the league saw fewer of his beautiful moon-ball deep shots to receivers Jalen Philpot, Dominique Rhymes, and Damien Alford. While Adams regained his form in time to clinch a postseason berth, the stumble allowed BC to overtake Calgary for second place and to take the Western Division Semi Final game for BC Place in Vancouver. There a late Stamps special teams fumble allowed Rourke and Co. to escape to the Western Final on a walkoff field goal. Calgary will be dangerous in any replay, though, they have the defence and offence to compete with anyone.

Winnipeg 10-8

In a league of offensive fireworks, Winnipeg still preferred to win in the old-fashioned CFL way- on special teams and defence. They possessed the CFL’s most dangerous long range kicker in Sergio Willis, who could fire through FGs from mid field. The return game was anchored by the CFL’s best return man, Trey Vaval; Vaval led the West in punt returns and average; among his many accomplishments was setting the CFL game yardage record for missed Field Goals on September 20 (199). The Minnesota Vikings liked Vaval so much they worked him out in the middle of the season.  The Bomber defence could stop the run and the pass, and they possessed a great all-around back in Brady Olviera (1,163 rushing yards, 61 catches for 546 yards - and he can block!) Add in excellent coaching, and a proven commodity in QB Zach Collaros along with a change of pace in scrambling reserve QB (and former NY Jet) Chris Streveler and Winnipeg had enough to make another playoff run, albeit in the East as a crossover team. But time and free agency had eroded their receiving corps and offensive line, and their reign of six straight Grey Cup appearances came to a close with a tough loss to Montreal in the Eastern Semifinals. 

Edmonton Elks 7-11

The Elks may have finished in fifth place in the West but they have a dynamic roster, led by veteran QB Cody Fajardo and RB Justin Rankin, a former Kent State player who scored 9 majors in runs while he added in 56 catches for 713 yards and four more TDs.  Rankin led the CFL in yards from scrimmage at 1,739 and he averaged a whopping 7.0 yards per touch.  Rankin had the CFL’s longest run in 2025 at 90 yards, and he was a threat to go the distance, either on passes or on the ground, every time he touched the ball. Edmonton also had the combined yards leader, Javon Leake, who tallied 2,424 yards on runs, catches, and returns (134.7 yards per game). 

Edmonton started the season 1-5 before a late August win streak and some solid play play in September brought them to 7-9 in early October, and on the brink of a possible playoff spot. Two tough losses to BC and Calgary ended those dreams, but Edmonton had built a solid foundation for the future. 

Fred Bobberts

Original Date of Publication: Jan 26, 2026