Ortiz Bowl I
Ortiz Bowl I was the inaugural edition of the Ortiz Bowl fantasy football league. Though this was the first year of the league, there were a number of fantasy football veterans who were favored to win, among them Weston and George Beljajev, David and Erin Peterson, and Andrew Bienias. In the end, Weston and David ran away with the league, and Weston bested David in the final by a score of 147.26 to 96.78.
Regular Season Standings
| Division 1 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Teams | Manager(s) | Wins | Losses | Ties | Winning percentage | Points for | Points against | ||
| (2) Pop Lockett Drop It | Weston Beljajev | 11 | 3 | 0 | .786 | 2,046.60 | 1,742.44 | ||
| (7) Teeth | Natalie Ishii | 6 | 8 | 0 | .429 | 1,635.24 | 1,837.64 | ||
| (8) Colorful Flowers | Erin Peterson | 5 | 9 | 0 | .357 | 1,749.04 | 1,965.96 | ||
| Mountain Raige | Codi Ortiz | 5 | 9 | 0 | .357 | 1,610.14 | 1,838.04 | ||
| WGG Dogz | Sandi Ishii & Anne Ortiz | 5 | 9 | 0 | .357 | 1,592.20 | 1,787.60 | ||
| Nacho Cheese Ortiz | Ryan Ortiz | 4 | 10 | 0 | .286 | 1,696.36 | 1,901.68 | ||
| Division 2 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Teams | Manager(s) | Wins | Losses | Ties | Winning percentage | Points for | Points against | ||
| (1) California Cats | David Peterson | 12 | 2 | 0 | .857 | 2,085.30 | 1,637.70 | ||
| (3) Dodgers Suck | Andrew Bienias | 10 | 4 | 0 | .429 | 2,075.80 | 1,756.94 | ||
| (4) Ketchup and Mostert | George Beljajev | 9 | 5 | 0 | .643 | 1,916.84 | 1,780.62 | ||
| (5) I like tacos | Curran Beljajev | 8 | 6 | 0 | .571 | 2,154.86 | 1,794.68 | ||
| (6) Gnoble Gnomes | Jessie Peterson | 7 | 7 | 0 | .500 | 1,795.36 | 1,935.00 | ||
| Anaheim Steamrollers | Steve Ishii | 2 | 12 | 0 | .143 | 1,475.36 | 1,854.80 | ||
Bracket
The 2022 Ortiz Bowl playoffs featured the top 8 teams, regardless of division, who faced off against each other in a three round tournament that was held during weeks 15, 16, and 17 of the 2022 NFL regular season. Regular season record determined seeding, with total points scored being the first tiebreaker. Colorful Flowers qualified as the final seed in the playoffs, winning the tiebreaker over Mountain Raige and WGG Dogz by virtue of having scored more points during the course of the regular season.
| 1 | California Cats | 181.22 | |||||||||||
| 8 | Colorful Flowers | 122.98 | |||||||||||
| Quarterfinal 1 | |||||||||||||
| 1 | California Cats | 146.10 | |||||||||||
| 5 | I like tacos | 111.36 | |||||||||||
| Semifinal 1 | |||||||||||||
| 4 | Ketchup and Mostert | 114.10 | |||||||||||
| 5 | I like tacos | 168.68 | |||||||||||
| Quarterfinal 2 | |||||||||||||
| 1 | California Cats | 96.78 | |||||||||||
| 2 | Pop Lockett Drop It | 147.26 | |||||||||||
| Ortiz Bowl I | |||||||||||||
| 3 | Dodgers Suck | 158.96 | |||||||||||
| 6 | Gnoble Gnomes | 115.52 | |||||||||||
| Quarterfinal 3 | |||||||||||||
| 3 | Dodgers Suck | 116.78 | |||||||||||
| 2 | Pop Lockett Drop It | 185.16 | |||||||||||
| Semifinal 2 | |||||||||||||
| 2 | Pop Lockett Drop It | 185.70 | |||||||||||
| 7 | Teeth | 88.56 | |||||||||||
| Quarterfinal 4 | |||||||||||||
Controversies
During week 17 of the 2022 NFL season the Buffalo Bills played the Cincinnati Bengals in Cincinnati with playoff seeding on the line. Tragically, Buffalo safety Damar Hamlin collapsed unexpectedly with just under six minutes left to play in the first quarter. At the time it was uncertain what the outcome would be, and so the game was postponed, with Cincinnati leading 7-3. As it turned out, Damar Hamlin suffered cardiac arrest as a result of an undiagnosed medical issue. He later made a full recovery, but due to the serious nature of his illness, the NFL elected to cancel the game entirely.
As it happened, the California Cats were starting two players in that game: tight end Dawson Knox of Buffalo and wide receiver Tee Higgins of Cincinnati. As a result of the game being canceled, all stats were zeroed out, leaving the Cats, essentially, two players down in the championship game.
While it was theoretically possible that the Cats might have won had those players played, it seemed unlikely, considering the teams were playing against each other, and the match was likely to be tightly contested. Had the game gone on as usual, it seems likely that the Cats would have lost, but the score would have been a bit more reasonable. Consequently, no protest was lodged, and the first Ortiz Bowl was successfully concluded.