Photos from week 1 - PFOL 2

Stacy Peatz warming up before game 1


Abusement Park minus Marcus Hall

Kevin Naylor hustling after a loose ball

Dave Neff draining a 3 over Brokl

Stacy Paetz knocks down a jumper

Jason Rost getting to the rim

PFOL 2 Statisticians Ashlee and Ashley

Dave Neff describing how things will be much better once Marcus Hall starts playing

Front Office Legends minus Pat Sullivan

Jake putting up a normal Jake shot - except this one went in.

Alan ignoring the post and getting ready to jack a three

Jon Rangel was the player of the week with 18 points and 4 Rebounds

Brian Stutzman is rumored to be asking for a refund for his p90x DVD after he failed to score a point in week one.

Vance doing what Vance does

Mowrey knocking down a three over Vernon

Halftime Interview - Abusement Park vs Front Office Legends

Down big in the first half, Abusement Park cut the lead to only 2 at half time. Stacy Paetz stopped to speak with our Jason McGuinness about it.

Teams choose names

After a season of fan complaints of not having team names for season one of PFOL, the league mandated that all teams choose a name for season 2.

Below are the new names:

Team 1 - McAlister's Deli
Team 2 - Abusement Park
Team 3 - Front Office Legends
Team 4 - Brute Force
Team 5 - Deemer's Dream Team

PFOL Season 2 teams announced

Indianapolis - The teams for season 2 of PFOL were announced this afternoon. Five teams will compete for the Alan Mowrey trophy starting June 8th. With the core group of players returning including Edmound Elzy, Pat Sullivan and Jhared Simpson the league adds over 20 new players including Marcus Hall, Donovan Etchison and Stacy Paetz. With the increase of players the league has expanded it's roster size from 6 to 8 players per team.

Misc notes
Several new rules changes have been implemented this year. Games will now consist of two 20 minute halves and the college 3 point line will be used.

Due to budget restraints PFOL 1 Champions will not receive their rings.

Team 1
Alex Krows
Amber Matthews
Bob Herzog
Camron Monnier
Chris Evans
Edmound Elzy
Eric Flatt
Nathan Burger

Team 2
Alex Montagano
Dave Neff
Donovan Etchison
Kyle Krol
Marcus Hall
Matt Lowstetter
Stacy Paetz
Ryan Gibson

Team 3
Heather Elrod
Jason Rost
Joe English
Kevin Naylor
Pat Sullivan
Ryan Forney
Michael Lake
Troy Brokl

Team 4
Alan Mowrey
Andrew Boehner
Brian Brown
Chris Melby
Jason McGuinness
Jhared Simpson
Jon Rangel
Sam Elmore

Team 5
Brian Stutzman
Jake Vernon
Kris Kovatovic
Richie Smith
Scott Higginson
Thorpe Miller
Vance Catlin
Zach Bonvillian

PFOL 2 set to tip off on June 8th

The regular season and playoff schedule has been released. With the influx of new talent into the league, PFOL commissioner Alan Mowrey expanded the league to 5 teams. Each team will play 8 regular season games with the top 4 teams making the playoffs. Click here to view the schedule -
News around the league

• Alan Mowrey is scheduled to undergo an MRI on his right knee. Mowrey injured his knee during his off-season half marathon training. He is expected to miss the first few weeks of the season.

• Edmound Elzy and Brian Stutzman have been seen in several heated arguments over the last few days stemming from pre-season rankings. Brian Stutzman was upset that he received a low player ranking from Elzy. "P90X don't mean (expletive) to me", said Elzy

• Finals MVP Jake Vernon has guaranteed a League MVP this season.

• Fox Sports Indiana's sideline reporter Stacey Paetz will be joining the league.

The Asterisk game

Indianapolis - All season long Vance Catlin had to find opportunities to get his shots in. With perennial shooters the likes of Jake Vernon and Jhared Simpson on the floor, Catlin had to be patient and wait for the ball to somehow get out of the hands of the “shooters”. Wednesday afternoon, Vance’s willingness to embrace the roll of “third option” ultimately paid off for him and his dysfunctional team. Vance put back a missed Simpson shot as time expired in overtime to give his team the first ever PFOL Championship beating Team 1 45-44.

Team 1 got off to a hot start as they outscored Team 3, 22-6 to start the game. But, with a combination of timely bank shot 3 pointers from Vernon, 2nd chance points and lack of instant reply Team 3 overcame a 6 point deficit with 1:31 to go in the second half.

“We have to give them credit; they made big plays when they counted. Neff’s steal and rebound off a missed free throw during the last 30 seconds should not be overlooked. Those plays were HUGE”, said Alan Mowrey.

“I am so glad it’s over, where do I sign to become a free agent”, said Dave Neff moments after the game ended.

Team 3 dominated the entire season despite being called the “Denver Nuggets” of the PFOL. Look for Team 3 to have a very different look next season.

The parade will take place on Monday morning at 8:30am. It will start at Jake’s office and end in the employee break room where they will all share hot chocolate.

Game 2 in pictures

Surprisingly Jake didn't call a foul on this play



Team 1 didn't give the respect that Vance deserved and he made them pay



A unruly fan attempts to get a picture of Troy's throwback Al Harrington Jersey.



Jhared had one thing on his mind all season - shoot.

see caption above

Vernon was humming the Superman theme song all game long to get himself pumped up.

Vance struggled to get his fair share of touches in this game. However, he got the only shot that mattered in the end.

Jake Vernon was missing from this picture because as the final horn sounded he ran to his phone to send a Tweet about his 16 point 11 rebound performance.

TEAM 3 wins Championship

Team 3 wins the PFOL Championship on a last second put back by Vance Catlin.

The complete recap, pictures, video and stats will be updated on the website later tonight.

PFOL Finals - Game 1 in Pictures

Click here to see all pictures from Finals game 1



Henry Kreutzinger was dunking in pregame warm ups.



Not sure what is going on here in this picture.

Jhared was in a playful mood on Friday...more to come.

Team 1 was missing captain Richie Smith

Team 3 stopped for a photo (not pictured: Jake Vernon)

Alan trying to get his jumper going

Henry goes in for an early dunk

Alan still looking for his jumper

Fans of all ages came out for Game 1 of the Finals

The Pacers Front Office League VIP section was sold out.

The funny thing is Dave shot an air ball here and hit Troy in the back of the head (over/under on days until this picture is Troy's Facebook status is 1.5 days).

Fans came out in droves to see the finals

Even JARL had a courtside seat

Troy Brokl hit 5-6 3pt FGs on Friday

Jake Vernon played despite having flu like symptoms.

Fans headed for the exits as Team 3 pulled away in the 2nd half

Jhared showing off his dance moves

Jake Vernon going for defensive player of the week by trying to fracture Mowrey's skull.

Jhared couldn't resist to bust a move one more time.

Team 3 Pounds Shorthanded Team 1

Indianapolis - Team 1 knew they had their work cut out for them going into Game 1 of the PFOL Finals. They would be playing with out their captain Richie Smith, who was away for personal reasons. They would be playing with a banged up Alan Mowrey who is playing on a torn meniscus that will most likely need to be operated on in the offseason. They would be playing the best team in the PFOL who have saved their basketball for the post season. They knew they needed to play a near flawless game if they wanted any chance of stealing this game. What they didn’t know was that Troy Brokl, who up to this point has been a major disappointment for Team 3, would have his break out game of the season. Troy Brokl lead a 21-8 run to start the 2nd half by hitting three 3 pointers in a row. Troy finished the game with a season high 19 points as his team took a 1-0 series lead with a 52-39 win.

“I thought I was watching Reggie Miller out there. However, we are not concerned, Troy is a streaky shooter. I watched him go 0-18 one day in practice” said, Alan Mowrey.

Richie Smith’s absence was felt as his team struggled to get quality looks. Alan Mowrey obviously was slowed today by his bad knee. “It was really frustrating, I thought my knee was getting better, I had been icing it, resting it and had thought it would hold up, but then in warm ups it gave out and I knew I was screwed”.

Team 3, showed why they are the best team in PFOL by sharing the ball and playing solid defense. Defensive specialist Dave Neff was all over the court and Vance and Simpson owned the offensive boards by getting 18 second chance points. Captain Jake Vernon, who is battling flu like symptoms was very happy with his team performance, “I am proud of my guys, especially Troy. He has sucked all season but today he brought it”.

Game 2 is scheduled for next Friday. Team 1 will be back at full strength. Richie Smith will return to the team this week and Alan Mowrey is reportedly spending the week in LA to get treatment on his knee. “People that think this series is over have another thing coming, we’ll be ready Friday, said Mowrey

Notes from Game 1

- Hasnen Wong scored his first points of the season by knocking down two jump shots in the 2nd half

- A new attendance record was set on Friday as 26 people were in attendance for Game 1

- PFOL earned a profit today for the first time this season. To clarify, no tickets were sold - someone found a dollar bill left in the stands by one of the people in attendance.

- PFOL courtside VIP passes were distributed. Contact Dionna Widder for game 2 passes.

-Troy Brokl announced that his Al Harrington jersey will be auctioned off at the end of the playoffs

- Henry Kreutzinger is leading the league in rebounding for the playoffs. He is averaging double the amount of the person in 2nd place.

Video Clips from Finals Week 1

Alan Mowrey scores on the block over Vance

Mowrey connects from downtown but it was too late, the game was over

Team 3 killed Team 1 on the offensive glass. Plus when Eric Gustafson is knocking down jumpers you know they are rolling.

Team 1 struggled all day long

Mowrey scores again on the block

Troy had knocked down three huge 3 pointers in the 2nd half

PFOL is now on Facebook

PFOL now has a Facebook Fan page - http://bit.ly/cgi4yM

Championship League Trophy has Arrived, Games postponed

Indianapolis - The Alan Mowrey League Championship Trophy arrived today at Conseco Fieldhouse as the League finals were scheduled to begin today. Due to uncontrollable circumstances Game 1 has been pushed back to Friday, March 26th.

The Alan Mowrey League Championship Trophy (named after the founder of PFOL and current commissioner) will be available for public viewing today and tomorrow from 8:30am to 5:00pm in the commissioner's office.

By Jason McGuinness

PFOL FINALS INSIGHT

PG
Stutz vs. Neff
Wow. Interesting matchup here. Both gritty players who play fundamental “D” and will constantly reach in. If we kept track of fouls they could both be in foul trouble by tip-off. Neff may try to use his height advantage here, but Stutz is not afraid to body up anyone on the court (or intentionally foul them) His constant workouts at nearby Nifs have made him one of the stronger PG’s in the league. Two very competitive players here. This one could be intense.
Advantage: Neff

SG
Richie vs. Troy
Consistent shooter vs. streaky shooter. Rich holds the 1993-1994 Indiana HS FG % record in Shelby County. Troy is known to knock down 5 threes in a row or miss 5 free-throws in a row. Troy has a motor 2x Tyler Hansbrough, so he will try to be all in Richie’s face. I currently hear Troy eating chips, so Richie may get more looks than originally expected. If Troy is on a good streak it could be trouble for team one.
Advantage: Richie

SF
Alan vs. Vance
I think this is the biggest match-up of the Finals. Alan has found his 3 point shot in recent games and is a force when going baseline. Vance may be the one and only guy who can slow Mowery down with his similar size, strength and athleticism. The question is will Alan put his “Defensive Game Face” on and contest Vance’s mid-Range Shots?
Advantage: Alan

PF
Burger vs. Jake
Huge intimidation factor here. Enough said. Good luck Burger.
Advantage: Jake

C
Henry vs. Jared
Henry is averaging over 15 rebounds per game in the playoffs, and really was the reason why his team is in the Finals. Jared is one of the best players in the League when he wants to be. If he can keep Henry off the Glass his team will prevail. Also, Henry may have difficulty guarding Jared, because he doesn’t prefer to play D outside the paint and Jared can shoot.
Advantage: Toss Up (maybe slightly to Jared)

BENCH
Zach – He will still be less than 72 hours removed from Vegas. I would recommend sitting him in Game 1.
Hansen – 3rd times a charm, give him the Game Winner, he will be open.
Advantage: Zach

Team ONE in 3 games.



Jason McGuinness can be reached at:
Direct: 317-917-2948
jmcguinness@pacers.com

Team 1 and Team 3 to face off in the finals

Team 1 - 42
Team 4 - 39


Indianpolis - Richie Smith hit a three pointer as time expired and sent his team to the PFOL Finals. Smith caught an inbound pass from Kreutzinger with 2.4 seconds left and got off a shot just before time expired. "It was a great shot, it was a great pass - it was just great", said Nathan Burger. Smith also ended the first half in similar fashion. He hit a running shot from the top of the key as the first half horn sounded.


Team 4 got out to a 22-15 lead before Team 1 went on a 10-0 run to end the first half. Smith scored 10 points and Kreuetzinger grabbed 16 rebounds. Alan Mowrey led all scores with 16.


Team 1 will face Team 3 in the Finals next week.





Team 3 - 40
Team 2 - 38


Indianpolis - The first five minutes of the game today between Team 2 and Team 3 was filled with fouling and arguing as both teams realized what was at stake. After the foul-filled start of the game, the players settled down and battled it out. Team 3 held on to a 2 point win after Eric Flatt failed to get the ball inbounds down 2 points with 4.8 seconds left. Doug Morgan had a chance to tie the game with 12.8 seconds left as he was fouled shooting a three pointer with his team down 37-34, but he only made 2 of 3 free throws.

Edmound Elzy who complained of being fouled every time he touched the ball ended up with 16 points and 8 rebounds. Jake Vernon and Dave Neff lead a balanced scoring attack for Team 3 as they both had 10 points.

Team 3 will face Team 1 in the Finals. Team 3 is 2-0 this season vs Team 1.