There is a disturbance in the PGF Fantasy force. No, rest assured. McWhorter is safely back in 7th place. Scoreboard McWhorter! No, I’m not still sore about coming in second place last season.
No, the problem is with the upstart, Freespiritphil. It seems through cunning, sloth, or neglect, he found a way to game the system. He kept a team from a previous week which should have been over budget last week. His team:
This team went over the budget as follows:
Phil is a solid $13 dollars over budget.
I’m making an immediate motion to the Commish to remove the lowest two costing members of Phil’s team from his point total. This action should mean Grayson Webster and Kemoy Anderson are removed and their respective point totals. You don’t get any benefits from not changing your fantasy football teams; you shouldn’t get any benefit from not doing so in the PGF. Of course, we can all chock this situation up to growing pains, but an Egghead has to protect his lead.
Talking about leads and scoreboards, I’m still on top. So, it’s probably worth reading my analysis (even if it’s posted late – sorry guys for last week) or listening to the McDojo Show podcast for the latest analysis from Walo, Chris, mig-E, and occasionally the Egghead Warrior on who you should pick.
Okay, I’ve belabored the monologue almost enough. I have to give a big shout out to YouTube for last Friday….GOOD GRIEF. I know the servers messed up a lot of folks over the last weekend. The end result was many of us hanging out in the chat waiting for the PGF to start. But, it was worth it. We saw some really great matches. Which I’ll cover in my fantasy updates…NOW:
PGF Week 4 Matchups (predictions with UPDATES/comments on actual results):
BLOCK 6:
“Judo” Justin Williams (white) v Kemoy “RatedR” Anderson (brown) – KILL, Blue 6. Kemoy gets on the submission train with a win over Judo. Judo can defend, but Kemoy’s punishing style will be too much for the judoka. Kemoy knows he needs to capitalize on this match so I think he forces the kill.
UPDATE: KILL, KEMOY. Judo fends off Kemoy’s grips for a solid minute before Kemoy takes down Judo with a single leg. Judo uses the lockdown, but flat on his back, not whipping, so it’s just stalling. Kemoy gets to mount and Judo defends. Kemoy goes for the North South; Judo defends. Kemoy moves to scarf hold/kesa gatame/judo side control and gets the head and arm triangle. Kemoy isn’t pumped about beating a teammate who is really there for the experience than there to win. Kemoy – take the win, bud. You’re on the submission board, where many of us knew you could be. Keep on, keeping on.
Grayson “Southern Samurai” Webster (blue) v Randy “Dump Truck” Roden (blue) – KILL, Blue 6 Grayson had the most impressive stats in the pre-season combine, but Roden does back flips on the regular. Both are blue belts, but Roden is a D1 athlete. D1 wrestlers are some of the best conditioned athletes in the world. I think Roden gets the kill. Grayson’s going to make him work for it, but every person I’ve seen interviewed has been super impressed by Roden.
UPDATE: DRAW – Two blue belts. Both very physical. Roden gets the pass-by takedown in about 12 seconds. Roden disengages and gets to a standing v seated guard passing situation. Roden tries to pass and gets stuck in half guard. Roden disengages and Webster stands. Grayson sits guard. Roden gets a good arm around the neck, but Grayson stays calm and fights it. Roden gets to mount. He’s trying for that head and arm but isn’t walking the arm using his fingers. Roden moves to side control. Grayson is defending and using explosive breathing. Grayson goes to turtle. Roden gets his back and flattens him. Grayson fights back to on his back. Roden back on top; he can’t decide between Ezekiel, head and arm, or mounted triangle. He goes for a mounted guillotine but Grayson keeps fighting. Competitors and fans may not like Grayson’s defensive posture, but you can’t argue with his heart. He faced an onslaught for the entire match and didn’t give up. That’s grit, everyone. For Roden, it’s just a matter of time. His athleticism and overall grappling will be complemented by his submissions as he develops. He will be a force for the next season of the PGF at his weight class.
Joshua Gibbs (purple) v “MEGA” Mike Johnson (purple) – KILL RED 6. See above analysis. In short, bit/MEGA purple belt takes out smaller, more recently promoted purple belt. I’m a little concerned about Gibbs’ role for the knee bar from the PGF season 2 promo but it looks like Mega is going to use his weight distribution to ensure he’s safe.
UPDATE: MEGA BREAK – Mega got the Russian tie on the feet, then moved to Gibbs’ back. Gibbs made that roll for the leg, but Mega kept the pressure down and shucked Gibbs’ legs, landing in half guard. Mega puts lots of pressure on Gibbs. He works the twister pass, but seals it when he gets a kimura grip. Mega gets a quick tap using that kimura from side control.
James Regina (purple) v Zach “Squidbilly” Edwards (brown) – BREAK RED 3. As said above, I think the brown belt leg locker takes out the purple belt leg locker. The x-factor is Edwards’ lower back. If Edwards is limited, Regina could pull the upset. Probably safe to say not a lot of wrestling in this match.
UPDATE: BREAK, SQUIDBILLY. Imagine that, Edwards sits and starts going for legs. Okay, there’s a lot of rolling and footsie going on. [This levity is aimed more at my lack of sophistication with leg locks and less at the two leg lockers’ game lay.] At the end of the match, Edwards gets the toe hold for the break. Also, real props to Edwards for staying in the league despite his lower back injury.
Evan “8-mile” Stapler (blue) v Sam “Kingpin” Barbosa (brown) – KILL BLUE 6. After the “loss” to Covin, Sam’s going to want to get a dunk. I think Sam’s realizing his relaxed/casual game play isn’t going to help him in the six-minute matches of the regular season. I wouldn’t be surprised if Barbosa came out with some more sense of urgency at the beginning of the match.
UPDATE: KILL, BARBOSA. I think Evan tries a few attempts at an uchi mata against the Kingpin. That ends poorly and Sam gets into a north south position on 8-Mile. Barbosa gets the front headlock and goes to work. Sam sets up the Darce then pulls guard for some extra torque.
Hunter “the Professional” Colvin (black) v Kevin “Prison Rules” Primeau – KILL, BLUE 6. Colvin showed some possible susceptibility to wrist locks when he faced Sam Barbosa. “Prison Rules” Primeau has shown he’s not afraid to use wrist locks. Absent a super sneaky wrist lock, I think Colvin has this match. I know one of the PGF rules is not to go against Primeau, but until someone beats Colvin, you have to pick him.
UPDATE: BREAK COLVIN. The Pete Rose of the PGF pulls guard. Colvin starts working for that kimura setup to the back but is able to secure it without the full kimura grip. Colvin is on Primeau’s back at 17 seconds into the match. Primeau keeps fighting, forcing Colvin to go to somewhat of a mount position. Colvin’s got that giftwrap and keeps trying to get the back. It looks like Colvin is going to try for a triangle, but Primeau keeps fighting. Colvin decides 1:42 into the match to not mess with the Liquid Terminator’s defense to chokes and settles for the arm bar.
Matt “Maneless” Elkins (brown) v Elijah “the Bag Guy” Carlton (brown) – KILL, RED 6. In the NFL, they say it’s hard to beat a team three times in a season (DAMN YOU TB, SAINTS STILL WON THE SERIES 2-1 THIS SEASON!). Elijah has now beat two Elkins boys via triangle choke in the PGF regular season (he got Matt also via leg lock in the season 1 tournament). Elkins may sit due to his knee. Apparently, having Elijah in top position is even worse than worrying about his triangle setups. In the season 1 tournament previews, I think we all figured Elkins would have to out grind Elijah to win, but Elijah tapped Elkins very quickly. Elijah knows he’s in a tight race with Hunter Colvin; he’s probably kicking himself for taking the break against Grayson. I think Elijah finds a way to get the kill against Elkins. Matt’s a warrior for continuing to compete, using his C game (I think that’s what he said on the Daily Stack Podcast). Elkins when he’s 100% hasn’t beat Elijah yet, so it’s hard to not bet on Elijah against a limited Elkins.
UPDATE: KILL, CARLTON. Matt Elkins v Elijah Carlton 3 (first was regular season PGF season 1, then season 1 tournament). I didn’t notice at first, but Papa Bear Elkins is pacing on a corner of the mat watching his little brother – it’s kinda cute. Maneless comes out and sits guard against the Bad Guy. Elkins is trying some De la Riva guard or reverse DLR, but Carlton passes pretty quickly. Carlton tries to get the mounted triangle, but Elkins inverts and forces a scramble. Carlton passes again, working some side control/knee on belly. Looks like he moves to a little of an s-mount, then goes back take. Elkins fights hard, but Carlton gets the RNC. Another win for the Bad Guy. I’ll admit I was re-watching everything on 1.5 speed to help with my summary, but I rewound and went back to normal speed for Matt Elkins’ interview. He’s easily the best interview in the PGF. Watch the interview, then look back at my commentary from Elkins matches last week.
Jake “Head” Elkins (purple) v Stephen “the Spoiler” Eakin (black) – A big, bad wrestler faces a big, bad MMA fighter. Both transitioned to jiu jitsu after their first passions (of course Elkins still does just a bit of wrestling). Eakin’s been looking for a reason to sit guard; well this match might be that reason. At the same time, Eakin might just want to stand with Elkins just to see what it’s like. As the black belt, Eakin should win, but Elkins is a beast. Eakin’s match against Barbosa shook my confidence in him a bit…but I think the Kingpin woke the sleeping giant in that match. Eakin’s seems to be a lot more motivated. I’m not sure if Elkins was looking forward to the match with Elkins, but Eakin was thinking about this match way before getting to Decatur. As I said above, put a gun to my head and I’m saying Eakin. But it could completely go either way or stall out for a draw.
UPDATE: DRAW. While this match was originally the first of the block, it was moved to the last because it was actually a make-up match. Jake HEAD Elkins had a prior engagement the normal night, so they made this match up on the bye day. It’s funny because I thought it would provide a benefit to Eakin as he would be fresh. As it happens Elkins had two matches prior to this match on the makeup night. But Eakin in his Dream Youtube show pointed out six minutes isn’t really enough to gas you out, but he may have faired better in this match if he had the two dunks of his white and blue belt teammates. I guess the layoff cuts both ways. After a brief exchange, Eakin sits guard. Elkins goes for the front headlock from top half. Eakin puts in the lockdown, a good lockdown. Elkins passes with the knee slice and moves to scarf hold/kesa gatame/judo side control. Eakin scrambles to his feet, but Elkins secures the beginnings of an anaconda choke. Eakin expertly defends. Here we see the rhythm of the match – Elkins uses athleticism and skill to get to a good position, but Eakins uses superior experience and technique to mitigate any threat from the position. In the end, six minutes isn’t enough for either competitor to secure a submission, but it’s a great match to review.
Team Winner: BLUE, by 9 if you believe my picks. 9 should allow for one reversal (say the first match of the block) and still maintain blue as the team winner.
UPDATE: I was correct.
Block 7:
Sam “Kingpin” Barbosa (brown) v James Regina (purple) – KILL, BLUE 6. Regina sits. Sam does his rolling kimura and takes Regina’s back. Sam gets the RNC Kill.
UPDATE: KILL BARBOSA. First, gotta give some props for the Regina’s KC rash guard. I have plenty of family and friends in Kansas who would really love Regina representing. Regina immediately sits. The Kingpin passes in less than 11 seconds. Regina puts in some nice frames. As Skaff says, Barbosa really loves that twister side control. You can see it more in his recent Sapoteiro matches on Youtube. Regina is defending; he scrambles. Barbosa gets to the front headlock. Regina sits to his back on the ground. Regina tries to invert for a leg, but Barbosa uses the position to get Regina’s back. At about two minutes into the match, Barbosa puts in a twister hook and secures a neck crank under the nose which is counted as a kill in the PGF.
Kemoy “RatedR” Anderson (brown) v Grayson “Southern Samurai” Webster (blue) – KILL, BLUE 6. Kemoy keeps it rolling with another submission. Kemoy knows he needs the points. Grayson is bigger and strong, but everyone says Kemoy is very strong. I could see Kemoy settling for the break, but I hope he forces the kill.
UPDATE: KILL KEMOY. They fight grips standing for a while then Grayson pulls guard after 27 seconds. Kemoy uses that knee slice to get to side control. Kemoy gets to mount but Grayson reverses almost immediately. Almost as quickly, Kemoy pops up that triangle. Grayson stacks and well, let’s be honest, Grayson is a big boy so it’s hard to triangle him. Grayson ends up with his own mount position. Kemoy gets back to quarter guard then reverses the position to be on top. Kemoy passes to mount with 2:30 left. Kemoy goes for the triangle, rolling to his back and finishing.
Randy “Dump Truck” Roden (blue) v Jake “Head” Elkins (purple) – KILL, RED 6. Jake shows some sick chain wrestling in the Season 2 promo against Roden. Elkins has awesome wrestling and great jiu jitsu. My only worry is if the competitors spend too much time trying to out wrestle each other they don’t have enough time to get a submission. If there is a submission, it’s going to be a Jake kill of Roden.
UPDATE: BREAK ELKINS. WRESTLEMANIA…CS (don’t want to get sued for TM violation). They start wrasslin’ Roden is chewing gum again. I hear chewing gum helps with our breathing. A little under 20 seconds into the match, we see the chain wrestling display by Jake HEAD Elkins we previously saw in the PGF Season 2 promo. It ends in Elkins getting Roden to the ground and securing a seated position with Roden’s back (without hooks). Roden tries a granby but Jake floats and gets once more to Roden’s back, securing a twister hook. Jake is constantly threatening with the choking arm, keeping Roden’s attention away from the hooks. Elkins flattens out Roden, belly down. Roden shows a lot of heart and strength getting to his back, to bottom mount. Roden threatens to roll out of the bottom mount. Elkins rolls with him and secures the arm bar submission.
“Judo” Justin Williams (blue) v Hunter “the Professional” Colvin (black) – KILL, BLUE 6. In the season 2 promo, we saw Colvin with a slick back take of Williams. Once Colvin gets your back, tap early; tap often.
UPDATE: KILL COLVIN. Colvin jumps for a standing guillotine to no avail. Judo sits back for a leg leading to that sweet back take from Colvin we saw in the PGF Season 2 promo. Colvin forces the neck crank for the kill.
Zach “Squidbilly” Edwards (brown) v Matt “Maneless” Elkins (brown) – KILL, RED 6. Elkins finds a way to get the front headlock with a little seated wrestling and secures the kill. I’m a little concerned for how Edwards is doing. This block will be the first match of the third day so Edwards might have hit that hot tub and received massage therapy. I hope he’s recovered and makes it a good match.
UPDATE: KILL ELKINS. In a strange turn of events, Elkins sits and Edwards takes top position. Elkins sweeps, but Edwards is happy to accept bottom position as Matt Skaff points out. Edwards rolls to a bit of a turtle and Elkins gets on that front/side headlock. Elkins looks like he’s moving to the North South choke, eventually securing it for the kill.
Stephen “the Spoiler” Eakin (black) v Joshua Gibbs (purple) – KILL, BLUE 6. Eakin knows he needs the kill. Eakin gets the kill. Eakin won’t goon Gibbs like he did with Judo Williams, but he will go after the kill hard.
UPDATE: KILL EAKIN. Gibbs goes for the single leg early. Eakin counters with the 10-finger guillotine, but since Eakin doesn’t have any guard/way to secure Gibbs, Gibbs is able to circle and get to side control. Eakin quickly gets back to half guard, then lockdown. Eakin goes for an old school, then a middle school (if you haven’t purchased and watched BMAC’s lockdown instructional on his Kajabi website/app, you’re missing out). Eakin keeps trying and gets the old school/middle school sweep. Gibbs puts in his own lock down but Eakin flattens Gibbs. Eakin gets double underhooks and uses the “dominator pass” according to Skaff to get to the mount. Eakin finger walks Gibbs’ right arm up, but Gibbs had his forearm between Eakin’s shoulder and Gibbs body. There’s a little scramble, but Eakin uses it to secure the head and arm triangle without Gibbs forearm in the mix.
Kevin “Prison Rules” Primeau v Evan “8-mile” Stapler (blue) – BREAK, BLUE 3. The crafty purple belt doesn’t let the upstart blue belt take him down. Kevin finds a sneaky sub during the match.
UPDATE: DRAW. 8-mile starts going for that uchi mata again. The Liquid Terminator (surely fueled by the hubris of his blue belt teammate trying to take down the purple belt) gets to Evan’s back and does a little suplex take down. Primeau is high on the back and Evan turtles up. 8-mile is doing a great job hand fighting against the choke. At this point, Primeau has Evan’s back, but Evan is on top putting all his weight and pressure on Primeau. I actually had a wrestling teammate get a defensive fall/pin in a similar situation. Regardless, all that weight on Primeau can’t be helping his reduced cardio. Kevin looks like he might transition for a head and arm and Evan spins back to guard. Primeau pops a triangle, but Evan stacks hard. Evan gets on top of Primeau’s turtle. With 32 seconds left, Evan’s call of going for the head and arm triangle setup by Primeau’s granby roll almost comes to fruition. Evan has it then Primeau gets his back to the ground. Evan mounts and get’s Primeau’s arm pinned to his head. Primeau goes back to turtle. With about seven seconds left, Primeau goes to granby out of turtle again and Evan almost sinks in the head and arm triangle. It’s obvious they’ve rolled a lot. 8-mile almost pulled the upset…but it’s a PGF rule (rules list forthcoming): never bet against Primeau aka the Pete Rose of the PGF.
Elijah “the Bag Guy” Carlton (brown) v “MEGA” Mike Johnson (purple) – KILL, RED 6. MEGA could push Elijah a bit, but Elijah has too much skill and competition experiences.
UPDATE: Elijah sits guard. He gets that sweet ankle pick from seated guard we saw in the promos. Elijah is trying to pass half guard but does a sweet mounted triangle setup, but MEGA escapes. Mega is trying to defend Elijah’s pass attempts first with a quarter guard, then looks to try a deep half on the other leg, which results in a triangle setup. Carlton gets the triangle without really locking it in. I had to watch it multiple times…Mega is just so well, MEGA, that Elijah cutoff the circulation without a traditional lock. I just watched it the eight time and Elijah does cross his ankles. Regardless, masterful showing by Elijah which takes him into the leader position in the PGF.
Team Winner: Blue team takes it by 9 points. Again, Blue is ahead enough to have a complete flip of a kill and still get the team points.
UPDATE: Blue team took it by 10 points (25 to 15).
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