3 INJURED RESERVE

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic's uncertain impact on the game, the number of IR slots will be expanded from 1 to 3 for the duration of the 2020 season.

The number of IR slots will not go lower than 3 this year; It may be expanded (on a Tuesday) is the number of COVID-19 cases has a more dramatic impact on the season. The intention will be to return to a single IR slot in 2021, although that can be revisited in the offseason.

Players are eligible for an IR slot if they have been placed on IR or as soon as they are ruled OUT for a given week. This designation can be made as late as an hour prior to kickoff- all GMs are encouraged to check the NFL INACTIVES REPORT on gameday to be as prepared as possible.

When a player that is no longer eligible for the IR is in that slot, a team will be unable to make any roster additions until the player is returned to the active roster. 

LBXII Draft's Eve

We're on the cusp of Draft Day! Tomorrow at 8:15pm fourteen teams will begin a journey, and, pandemic-willing, one team will arrive at their goal in late December.

The Pawnee Pride's title defense starts now.

Here's the official draft order, as selected by last year's placement, with the caveat that Manitoba replaced the relegated Philadelphia team, who then replaced New York, who have gone on hiatus. 

1. SAVANNAH PETES
2. CARMEL RUDY TUESDAYS
3. MAR A LAGO GRABBERS
4. PHOENIX UPRISING
5. BINGHAMTON SNIPERS
6. SOUTH PARK COWS
7. HCM CITY LEAD FARMERS
8. OHIO TOMMY BOYS
9. JERSEY SANITATION CREW
10. HILL VALLEY McFLYS
11. PAWNEE PRIDE
12. DEPUTY VAN HALENS
13. SOUTH PHILLY RUM HAM
14. MANITOBA MOOSECREW

As in all prior years, the draft will be serpentine, with draft slots flipping between each round- the Moosecrew will select 14th and 15th overall, followed by the Rum Ham 16th, the Van Halens 17th, and so on and so forth, through 23 rounds.

TUESDAY UPDATE

Effective immediately the Philadelphia Rum Ham are returning to the Larkspur Bowl without missing a season due to relegation. The Rum Ham will have an opportunity to end their six year playoff drought this year and aim to go from worst to first. 

New York's Finest are going on a self imposed hiatus. The Larkspur Bowl VI champions will head into quasi-retirement with the sixth best winning percentage of active teams. 

The B-League will also be put on hibernation, with the Toronto, Brewtang, and Nittany franchises put on a one-year hold. There will be no relegation following the LBXII season, but the concept may be revisited ahead of the LBXIII season.

The Draft Slot Selection will continue with the Rum Ham selecting in New York's vacated 12 spot. Here's the current order:

1. SAVANNAH PETES
2. CARMEL RUDY TUESDAYS
3. MAR A LAGO GRABBERS
4. PHOENIX UPRISING
5. BINGHAMTON SNIPERS
6. SOUTH PARK COWS
7. 
   
8. 
   
9. JERSEY SANITATION CREW
10. 
    
11. 
    
12. DEPUTY VAN HALENS
13. 
    
14. MANITOBA MOOSECREW

LBXII: Draft Date & Status

After some of the weirdest months in modern history, Football is set to kickoff on Thursday September 10th, 2020. As such, the Larkspur Bowl is reconvening for its twelfth season, as the defending champion Pawnee Pride put their title on the line against all challengers. We'll be returning to a familiar format: a thirteen week regular season, playing all opponents once, followed by a six team playoff where the top two seeds receive byes, with the wild card round taking place week 14, the semifinal taking place week 15, and Larkspur Bowl XII scheduled for week 16. A consolation bracket will be played to round out slots for the following year's draft, while one team will face relegation, swapping with the B-Division champion, pending certain conditions, detailed here.

If the ongoing pandemic situation substantially impacts play, contingency plans may be created on the fly if a fair and sporting alternative can be enacted.

Draft Order:

As installed last year, draft slots will be selected by teams based on their end of year incentives, in the following order: 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 5, 6, 3, 4, 2, 1. The order of selection is listed below, and the final order, once set, will be published in a subsequent blog post.

• PHOENIX UPRISING
• CARMEL RUDY-TOOS
• SAVANNAH PETES
• JERSEY SANITATION CREW
• MAR-A-LAGO GRABBERS
• BINGHAMTON SNIPERS
• DEPUTY VAN HALENS
• MANITOBA MOOSECREW
• SOUTH PARK COWS
• OHIO TOMMY BOYS
• HCM LEAD FARMERS
• NEW YORK'S FINEST
• HILL VALLEY McFLYS
• PAWNEE PRIDE

Rule Changes:

At current no rule changes have been made, but two are being deliberated:

• COVID-19 INJURED RESERVE (IR) SPOTS:
  The Larkspur Bowl utilizes a single IR slot that has seen increased functionality in recent years, as players that are ruled OUT are eligible for the spot on a weekly basis. Due to the pandemic situation in the United States, additional IR spots may be added prior to the draft. If the situation become untenable after the draft but prior to the start of the season, contingency IR slots may be added to rosters at the discretion of the commissioner, accompanied by ALL free agents being put through the waiver process. If over the course of the season numbers continue to swell, additional IR slots may be added on any TUESDAY, in conjunction with the weekly waiver protocol. Once IR slots are added, the number will not be reduced. Assuming the COVID-19 situation is under control by LBXIII, the IR slot number will return to one unless a separate amendment for additional slots is passed.
• KICKER FIELD GOAL POINTS PER YARD:
  Y! has made point per yard field goal scoring an option this year, but there appear to be bugs in the system where it does not multiply fractions properly. If they are able to properly configure the scoring, we may go to a .1 per yard field goal scoring system, rather than a tiered scored system. (With a per yard scoring system, a 19 yard field goal would be worth 1.9 points, a 28 yard field goal would be worth 2.8 points, a 45 yard field goal would be worth 4.5 points, etc.) This change would be initiated prior to the draft, and should not alter kicker values too much, relative to one another.

B-Division:

Manitoba won the inaugural B-League last year and thus returns to Larkspur Bowl action after a one year hiatus. In their place, the Philadelphia Rum Ham were relegated to the B-League, joining Toronto, Brewtang, and Nittany. An attempt will be made to expand the B-League to 6 or 8 teams this year, with the draft, with the draft tentatively scheduled for Sunday September 6th, at 6:30pm.

• PHILADELPHIA RUM HAM
• NITTANY LIONS
• BREWTANG KILLA BEEZ
• TORONTO LES TRES PETITES
• TBD
• TBD
• TBD
• TBD

B-Division Wrap-Up

The Manitoba Moosecrew won the inaugural B-Division Championship, and will return to the Larkspur Bowl in 2020 after a one year hiatus. The Moosecrew, who finished in third place as recently as 2016, ran the table, dominating the B-Division and removing and doubt about who would be elevated in the coming season.

To make room for the Moosecrew, the long tenured Philadelphia Rum Ham will be relegated to the B-Division for the coming season. Plans to unveil a more robust stable of six or eight teams are underway, with the format to be announced this August. Nittan Valley, Brew-Tang, and Toronto will all receive invites to the B-Division's second season, which will run concurrent with the Larkspur Bowl XII season.

XI: The Pawnee Pride are Larkspur Bowl Champions!

It's official! Taking perhaps the unlikeliest path to victory in Larkspur Bowl history, the Pawnee Pride have finally joined the champions table, as Kevin King managed to hold (and expand upon!) a six point lead with DL1 Danielle Hunter and legendary QB Aaron Rodgers rendered moot in the game's final act. Disruptive linebacker Chandler Jones was named the game's MVP, scoring 31 points, helping to absolve fellow pass rushers Nick Bosa (0) and Shaq Barrett (2) of blame had the Pride fallen short for a third time.

For Hill Valley, it was a stunning blow- the team was on the verge of winning three titles in four years, which would have cemented their claim as the league's second dynasty. Instead, they're left 2-3 in the big game all time- still good for the second most appearances and second most championships, but a gut punch for a team that went 11-2, led the league in points, and had a 97% chance of victory heading into the matchup's finale. They'll have to endure a cold winter, before the rejuvenation of spring and another August Draft gives them an opportunity to strike back.

Week 16 Matchups

 

• Phoenix Uprising252.52Carmel RudyTuesdays156.60
  FinalRecap
• Hill Valley McFlys222.54Pawnee Pride233.21
  FinalRecap
• HoChiMinhLeadFarmers225.70New York's Finest188.62
  FinalRecap
• Savannah Petes191.32NJ Sanitation Crew184.56
  FinalRecap

LARKSPUR BOWL BRACKET
#2 PAWNEE PRIDE defeat #1 HILL VALLEY McFLYS
It cannot be overstated how unlikely this victory was: neck and neck through three quarters, the end game looked to be underwhelming- the numbers were stacked against Pawnee. Kevin King's triumphant performance will go down in the league's lore; 4 tackles, a pick, a PD, and a TFL. Also of note, Pawnee's jumbo package (Kittle & Higbee both scoring 17) and the return of the Mack. For Hill Valley, Aaron Rodgers was a huge letdown in the big spot, wasting big time showings from undrafted nobodies like Breshad Perriman, Mike Gesicki, and Donald Payne.
OPOG: WR Michael Thomas PAW (29.6)
DPOG: LB Chandler Jones PAW (31.00)

3rd PLACE GAME
#4 HCM LEAD FARMERS defeat #3 NEW YORK'S FINEST
In the annual game that nobody wants to play, the Lead Farmers put a little more damper on Lamar Jackson's MVP season, capturing the bronze by way of their dynamic RB duo, McCaffrey and Jones and an all around tremendous showing from their defense. The only reason this matchup was as close as it was is because Jameis Winston's luck. Beyond Lamar Jackson, Tyler Boyd had a monster day for the Finest, while Lavonte David shored up the defense and Todd Gurley remained viable.
OPOG: QB Lamar Jackson NYF (35.02)
DPOG: LB Anthony Walker HCM (25.00)

7th PLACE GAME
#7 PHOENIX UPRISING defeat #9 CARMEL RUDY-TOOS
The Uprising had their finest hour at the right time, but in the wrong bracket. Their worst season in a decade will deliver the top draft pick slot, thanks largely to 2019's top overall pick, Saquon Barkley, making his case to repeat despite an injury plagued season. Carmel barely stood a chance here, with nine of seventeen starters scoring in single digits; Joey Bosa's 15 led the way, but the franchise's sophomore season will start with the #2 draft slot.
OPOG: RB Saquon Barkley PHX (52.80)
DPOG: LB Fred Warner PHX (31.80)

9th PLACE GAME
#12 SAVANNAH PETES defeat #8 JERSEY CREW
Savannah's redemption tour ends with a claim on the #3 draft slot; They were in the #2 spot this year, selecting RB Alvin Kamara ahead of #3 Christian McCaffrey, and regretting it nearly all season- Kamara's final performance was one of only three 20+ scores on the year, with the first two coming within the season's first three weeks. Jersey's first season nets them the #3 slot in the draft, and should afford them an opportunity to build a team in their fashion, with one year under the belt.
OPOG: RB Alvin Kamara SAV (29.60)
DPOG: LB Dante Fowler Jr. (30.50)

2020 DRAFT ORDER (SLOT SELECTIONS)

1. PHOENIX UPRISING
2. CARMEL RUDY-TOOS
3. SAVANNAH PETES
4. JERSEY SANITATION CREW
5. MAR-A-LAGO GRABBERS
6. BINGHAMTON SNIPERS
7. DEPUTY VAN HALENS
8. TO BE DETERMINED*
9. SOUTH PARK COWS
10. OHIO TOMMY BOYS
11. HCM LEAD FARMERS
12. NEW YORK'S FINEST
13. HILL VALLEY McFLYS
14. PAWNEE PRIDE

B-DIVISION PENULTIMATE RANKINGS
The inaugural B-Division champion will be crowned this Sunday, with Manitoba looking likely to claim the 14th seed in the Larkspur Bowl, relegating the PHILADELPHIA RUM HAM to the B-Division, with an intention to expand the B-Division roster to six or eight teams for 2020.

1. MANITOBA MOOSECREW 4063.14
2. NITTANY LIONS 3621.78
3. BREWTANG KILLA BEEZ 3497.22
4. TORONTO LES TRES PETITES 3377.99

XI: The Final Week

This year's rematch has an 'unfinished business' feel, as last year's competitors face off for the trophy once again. Meanwhile, New York and HCM battle for bronze, while Phoenix and Carmel decide who will take the top slot in next year's draft. Finally, Savannah and Jersey finish the season contending for the inglorious ninth spot, and third draft choice.

SATURDAY ACTION: "The First Quarter"

HVM v PAW - LARKSPUR BOWL XI

• HVM WR Breshad Perriman
• PAW LB Shaq Barrett
• HVM LB Terrell Edmunds
• PAW TE George Kittle
• PAW TE Tyler Higbee
• PAW K Robbie Gould
• PAW DE Nick Bosa
• PAW CB Richard Sherman

NYF v HCM - 3rd Place

• HCM QB Jameis Winston 
• NYF LB Lavonte David
• HCM WR Will Fuller
• NYF RB Todd Gurley
• NYF WR Deebo Samuel
• NYF DL DeForest Buckner

PHX v CRT - 7th Place

• CRT WR Mohammed Sanu
• CRT RB Devin Singletary
• CRT LB Jamie Collins
• CRT CB Stephon Gilmore
• PHX LB Fred Warner
• PHX S Taylor Rapp
• PHX S Jimmie Ward
• PHX K Greg Zuerlein

SAV v JSC - 9th Place

• SAV K Kaimi Fairbairn
• SAV LB Lorenzo Alexander
• JSC RB Sony Michel
• SAV QB Jimmy Garoppolo
• SAV WR Emmanuel Sanders
• SAV WR Cooper Kupp
• SAV DT Arik Armstead
• SAV LB Dante Fowler