1 Down: 2 To Go

Fantasy football, its FANTASTIC! My first draft was yesterday and I have to say, I'm pretty proud of myself. I got to talk smack in a league where I don't know but one person, spent an hour and a half in my favorite chair, Sports Illustrated at my side and I have to say...I missed the feeling of the draft.



Roster was as follows QB, RB, RB/WR, WR, WR/TE, K, D/ST and 8 bench spots. So now you know what I was dealing with here. "So how was the draft?," you ask. Well...

Excitement rushed through me (sad I know) as I watched the countdown reach zero, unfortunately it was another few minutes before I got to make my pick. I sat at the tenth and final spot in the draft and wanted to report on how I did well because, this is my blog and I can do what I want. I wanted to pat myself on the back...in writing. I was shocked to see not one but two WRs go ahead of my pick (Fitzgerald and Moss). Due to the snakeyness of this draft I got to have back to back picks. With that I was able to solidify my backfield by selecting Deangelo Williams and Frank Gore. The thing that makes me a little nervous is this is a WR heavy league, we have the option of starting 4. So needless to say when the draft came back to me a lot of the elite receivers were chosen. So with my third pick I wanted to guarantee a championship by drafting T.J. Houschmanzadeh. Who will throw TD passes in my fantasy football land? My next pick Philip Rivers.


Unfortunately I wasn't able to get Rivers' prime target (Antonio Gates was chosen 4 picks ahead of me) so I had to get his secondary target. I drafted Vincent and Desean Jackson (no relation). When it came back around to me, while everyone else for some reason was drafting defenses and kickers, I began building up my bench. In case of emergency with Williams I picked up his backup Jonathan Stewart. Since I had enough meat on my team I decided to have a side of Rice...Ray Rice. I wasn't done with my RB platoon. I managed to pick up two more later in the draft (Lesean McCoy, because you know Brian Westbrook WILL get hurt, and Tim Hightower, he was my homeboy last year and with the last pick in this draft I figured why not?). What I lacked was some backups for my receiving core and my QB. I knew the QB I wanted would be available on the way back when I picked McCoy and Percy Harvin. However when it came back around I decided to pull the trigger on Matt Hasselback. He came back healthy after a subpar season where he was injured most of the year. Add to the fact that I had his number one target in Houshmanzadeh and that his receiving core was coming back healthy. Speaking of receiving core, it was lacking when I made my pick of Hasselback so I decided to scoop up a TE. I grabbed Zach Miller from Oakland, he's their best receiver after all.

I feel pretty great about my team. I think Hasselback could have a bounce back season and if he doesn't Rivers should do his thing. Of course I did forget something, my K and D/ST. I grabbed just one of each, Jason Elam (K) and the Titans D/ST. At the time they were the best ones left. I honestly don't care if Albert Haynesworth isn't there, the D line enters beast mode on a regular basis. Speaking of beasts, Keith Bullock is definitely a monster in the MLB slot.

Sports Illustrated gave me a good rating for my draft, I mean by their accounts the second best fantasy RB is on my team along with the best K and the fourth ranked QB. My receiving core is lacking but I am thinking that they will be pretty solid. The problem I have, maybe its irony, is this isn't a SI league. Its ESPN, maybe I should have used their rankings. Oh well, that is 1 down and 2 more drafts to go this upcoming Sunday. So like Aldo the Apache I have to say "Ari va darchi!" (for those Italian speakers out there, I am sure this is spelled wrong, this is how Brad Pitt's character in Inglorious Basterds says it...and yes it is hilarious when he does)

Why Not Us? : 5 Guys That Could Go #1

What is great about a fantasy blog in mid August? Timing! So while it has been forever since I blogged about a passion of mine, I figured with my first draft being next Sunday, it's about time another one was posted by yours truly.

For those who play fantasy football, who enjoy mocking their friends/relatives/frenemies(at least during the season...in some cases) for totally selecting a player too early and who suck so bad you are coming to me for advice (or maybe a laugh), I thought you might want to know surefire people you can take with the first pick in your draft. While I know that this is only a select few who get this honor, it's nice to help the LA Clippers of the fantasy football world. So let's get the old pig skin rolling!

Unlike my previous Guitar Hero posts, these are in order for a reason. Like it says in the title, they are all awesome and I am no expert (although I have one it all once....in CBS...which among my frenemies apparently that doesn't count).

1. Adrian Peterson - RB - Minnesota Vikings

Who is shocked to see A.D. at the top of the list? Not me! Like LT before him All Day can do just that, run all day. No matter what defense it is he can always make something ridiculous happen. He is due for at least two 20+ point games per season and with most people's luck (like me) he will do it in a week when you don't need him. Let's go over the positives of Peterson, he's Adrian freaking Peterson. "What does that mean?," asks Joe Blow. What that means is he is a home run hitter able to break 20 yards or more in a single bound. He faces a normally stingy D at least twice in his own division however Green Bay is switching to the 3-4 which is probably going to take time and Detroit is...Detroit. Until they win a game (not practice, not practice, not practice, a game says Allen Iverson) they get no respect.

With every player however there are negatives that have to be pointed out. He is not running all day when it comes to being inside the 10. Chester "TD Poachapotumus" Taylor seems to get just as many carries (or catches, he is a better receiver out of the backfield) when they are needed most as Peterson. Also during playoff time(fantasy playoff time that is) where is Peterson? He isn't giving the fantasy numbers that other dominating backs seem to get later in the year. At least he hasn't yet, no TDs in weeks 14-16 last season. His fumbles more then doubled from 2007, he had 9 in 2008. Hopefully for any Peterson owners this year that number will drop. Let's also remember that as of the start of the season Brett "Should I Stay Or Should I Fish" Favre isn't their quarterback. The Vikings have a special recipe for an explosive offense, they have added some Sage....Rosenfels...I know I know, lame lame lame. Rosenfels can air it out just do not leave the ball in his hands at the end of the game. We know what happens when you do.

Prediction: 1,682 yards, 13 TDs, 20 Rec, 120 yards, 1 TD, 15 highlight worthy runs

2. Michael Turner - RB - Atlanta Falcons

This is who I compare Peterson to last season when I am talking about showing up in the fantasy playoffs. He scored every week not to mention a spectacular week 15 (152 yds, TD, 30 rec yds) where he owned the Bucs. I am willing to bet the Chargers would part with LT if they knew the Burner was going to produce like this. A lot of people credited Matt Ryan with reviving the Falcons franchise, easy Romeo. Let us not forget that this was one of the top rushing teams last season thanks to a large part of Michael Turner (who, again comparing to Peterson, had more then double the carries inside the 10 [17] as Peterson[7]) and Jerious Norwood. The team itself ranked 2nd in the league behind the Giants. A great positive that was missing last year is something the team couldn't avoid. Matty Ice is a rookie no more. What did the team do for him in the offseason, they got him a young QB's best friend. No not a dog Michael Vick, they got him a surefire Hall of Fame TE in Tony Gonzalez. So prepare for the passing game to open up plenty of opportunity for Turner to burn more people then Jim Rome.

Now when looking for negatives with Turner it is a little more difficult than with Peterson. Or is it? I mean the guy only had 3 fumbles last season. Turner was in his first full season as a full time, ball hawk, goal line work horse back and owned the soul of those who doubted him. He didn't just truck people at the goal line he was seen being the Burner of old as well. The question remains in my head, can he do it again? In my heart I have to say yes. Now I know someone is going to bring up Norwood as a potential carry stealer from Turner. Someone would be right but Norwood is more used in the return game. Usually when he gets a TD it is because he makes one guy miss then explodes down the field for a 50+ yard score. Also the Falcons are going to pass the ball a little bit more, I imagine they have the utmost confidence in their QB of the future now. Especially with all the weapons at his disposal.

Prediction: 1,753 yards, 20 TDs, 6 rec, 45 yds, 2 TDs, 80 burned defenders

3. Drew Brees - QB - New Orleans Saints

This guy can throw for 4,500 yards and 30 TDs in his sleep. Yet another guy who got away from the Chargers (not like Philip Rivers isn't also doing his thing). Brees is the general of a Saints offense that all they do is score touchdowns. When they step onto the field of battle there is an 85% chance that when driving down the field, when they score(and they will score) Brees will have resulted in the touchdown. He has more weapons at his disposal then North Korea and no weird looking glasses. He's like Vince Vaughn in Wedding Crashers, he can make it rain out there if he wanted to. Last season Brees threw for the regular season passing record and fell short however if you owned him in fantasy you thanked your lucky stars since he finished with 5,069 yards and 34 TDs. This was in a surprisingly powerful NFC South division with the Bucs, Falcons and Panthers stouting some tough defenses. Unfortunately the reason his numbers were so blown up was because their own defense was poor which resulted in Brees having to bring the team back from the dead on a regular.

The biggest issue I have with Brees is when he's on, look out. When he's off, he throws 4 interceptions and maybe a touchdown. That is if you are lucky. He did finish with 17 int.(consider some of those purple hearts) last season which was partially because of what I said before. Being behind, he took a lot of chances. Also as his owner you aren't really sure which one of his weapons to pick up. The smart money is on Marques Colston or last year's surprise Lance Moore (definitely not Jeremy "Shocked I didn't Score" Shockey). As long as one of them is on a roster with Brees the sky is the limit, but on those off weeks...the limit's the sky.

Prediction: 4,585 yds, 31 TDs, 16 int, 2 rush yds, 0 TDs, 3 purple hearts

4. Larry Fitzgerald - WR - Arizona Cardinals

He makes catches like this one on a regular basis. Now before you say, "A receiver with the first pick?!?," hear me out. Fitz is by far #1 on everyone's fantasy list as far as WR, if your league is heavy on WR or RB like mine you might enjoy having Fitz and scooping up another quality receiver in the third or fourth round. Most leagues use the snake format for drafts meaning you would have your first pick (taking Fitz you would completely upset whoever picks last in your draft) then the second and third pick would be back to back. Imagine lining up on Sunday with Fitz and Brandon Marshall/TJ Who's Your Mama. What if T.O. falls that far? Take a RB and a WR to control your destiny. Backs do fall off trees(if you do your research) but face the truth with later round picks of receivers. They are just filler. Not real point magnets. Back to Fitz, he had a career year last season(with reception yards and TDs) and when Boldin got hurt Fitz stepped up. He had 3 multi TD games not even including the postseason. After that performance, those numbers are going to go up. Why would Warner, Leinart or St. Pierre look to anyone else? Throw it to the man with stick em for hands.

As long as those hands don't fall to the dreaded Madden cover curse...everything should be fine. All players who have graced the cover either get hurt or take a turn for the worse in statistics later in the season. I like Fitz so I am hoping that this doesn't happen. Let us also remember that he is a receiver. He isn't going to get an owner a double digit point total on a weekly basis. In fact there might be a week or two where he scores under 5 points. A lot of running backs break our hearts as well but this will be the beef that a lot of people have with the pick. Take a chance, take Fitz #1!

Prediction: 90 receptions, 1,405 yards, 15 TDs, 45 "omg he caught that" moments

5. Maurice Jones Drew - RB - Jacksonville Jaguars

Pocket Hercules is no joke. In fact I should punch myself for not having him higher on this list. The organization feels he is the real deal, if they didn't they wouldn't have sent the franchise leader in yards packing. So with no Fred Taylor to steal carries, only the opposing D can stop him. In his own division the Colts can't, the Titans can try and the Texans are still young. MoJo is ready to have his first season with over 200 carries (easy, I'm guessing 300 touches). Last season with 197 carries he finished with 824 yards and 12 TDs. All those numbers are going to go up. That doesn't even cover his ability to catch the ball in the flats and juke a guy out of his cleats before gaining 20 yards down the sideline. As long as the team leaves MoJo in during goal line runs (his height would help, "where did he go?!?") he could be a top tier back that could have you kicking yourself at the end of the season when he outperforms Adrian Peterson.

Like Peterson, Mojo loses the ball. Getting the occasional cold, causing him to cough up the football. In split carries last season he had 4 fumbles with 2 of them being lost to the other team. I miss the days of having a back like Barry Sanders who didn't fumble. Period. As an owner, if the positive aspects of his game are going up one would have to guess that so are the negative. Also what if he really isn't ready to carry the load? What if the team still splits time in the backfield? Is the passing game going to improve with Torry Holt causing them not to run the ball as much as before? Does his size really matter? Well, for those who own him, lets hope not.

Prediction: 1,260 yards, 18 TDs, 65 rec, 572 yards, 4 TDs, 30 in game height jokes.

So there you have it. I am no expert, just a man with an opinion. If you have an opinion (there is a saying about everybody having one) let me hear it. Well read it that is.

10 Out of the Ordinary Songs for Guitar Hero

With the recent release of Guitar Hero: Smash Hits I(and the American public) feel like we have been let down. While I am happy that they have released these recycled songs into full band mode, they could have easily done that in the music store. Its like they mailed this one in. So starting today and for the weeks to follow I will be suggesting 10 songs in no particular order that could have been, or could hopefully be a part of a future version of Guitar Hero. Feel free to suggest your own songs in the comment section or completely mock me for my selections. Either or would be appreciated.

So as I was saying, for the next few weeks I will be releasing my lists. Each with its own special title. My thoughts for this one is if "Beat It" can be a GH song then why not these 10. Which is why this one is called...

10 Out of the Ordinary Songs for Guitar Hero

Remember these are in no particular order...

Victor Wooten "Me and My Bass Guitar"

So as to why I have chosen this song, its awesome. Give it a listen sometime(check out Youtube). Sure I know the song is all bass and vocals, I don't care. GH: World Tour had a Joe Satriani song with no lyrics so why not have this as the song that you play after you have gone through the bass career. It would be the bassist's version of "Through the Fire and Flames" as far as difficulty. It would make all those who enjoy "Slappin da bass" on GH(a la Paul Rudd from I Love You Man) elated. My phrase for this song, "So what if it's all bass, it's all awesome."

The Roots "Guns Are Drawn"

Who doesn't love the Roots? This is one of their better songs from The Tipping Point album. This one stands out above some of their others to me because of its good use of all instruments. Not just all bass and drums. Which speaking of those, as if it would be that hard to get ?uestlove to do motion capture for the drums. I mean if the band itself can be on Jimmy Fallon, what won't they do? In addition to the instrument use the lyrics wouldn't be heavily edited as some of their other songs. As those who have played the game know, there are a few words they do not like. Some Roots songs contain a lot of those.

Electric "Life is a Struggle (Remix)"

This is a little known hip hop group that I started listening to back in Salisbury. The best way to describe them or a group you could compare them to is the Roots. The regular version is pretty tight as well however its a drum machine and a lot of other things going on, nothing to do with a band. The remix edition does use a full band however is full on the bass and drums. So what it lacks in guitar it makes up there. Another positive is the lack of a whole lot of profanity, as in there is none. Thank god since my daughter Caylie loves to join in on the rocking. I have GH to thank for a lot of her vocabulary. So while the song starts out with a good balance of all instruments it definitely would be best on bass/drums.

Genesis "Sussidio"

Okay before you mock me and use a Family Guy or South Park reference hear me out. Obviously the vocals are good due to Phil Collins (insert South Park joke here) but that isn't all. The drums are awesome throughout the entire song with bass being a close second. Guitar is also well used in this but not as thoroughly as bass/drums. The guitar is used a whole lot more in this song then the previous, no real heavy solos though.

Prince and the Revolution "Computer Blue"

Now if you want guitar solos, Prince is your man. "Computer Blue" is not just a basketball play that owns Charlie Murphy and his group of flunkies. The guitar solo in the middle will completely own your soul if you attempt it on expert. I can't believe that a Prince song has not been on any GH games, completely ridiculous. As far as other memorable songs like "Darling Nikki" or "Little Red Corvette" I gave them a listen as well. "Darling Nikki" wouldn't make it past Red Octane censors since the song is about...a chick masturbating. Way to go Prince, when interviewed regarding this he was quoted as saying, "Owwww!" There is also more of a full use of a band in this song but what honestly sold it for me is the guitar solo from about the middle of the song that just goes on forever. It will also have you saying, "Owwww" when you try to play it. I can only imagine. Drums would also be pretty sweet on this however what I can't make out is much of a bass line but I'm sure its there. Either instrument you play will have you heading for the waters of Lake Minnetonka for purification.

Blackalicious "Green Light : Now Begin"

Now what this lacks in solos it makes up for in other instruments. This is one of the group's better songs off their Blazing Arrow album. There is a decent guitar section in the opening and in the end (around the 3 minute mark) but it doesn't really appear too much in between. Small sections here and there have guitar. The song itself is heavy on the drums and the bass. The interesting part would be getting all of the lyrics even close to right(that doesn't matter though, only pitch matters). Chief Xcel and the Gift of Gab are true artists in the form of hip hop so good luck to those of you vocalists out there. I think this is one song I could actually get the pitch on. All in all its a great song to chill to and something different for GH to try out.

Non Phixion w/ Steph (Deftones) & Christian and Ray (Fear Factory)

"The CIA is Still Trying to Kill Me"

If you are racking your brain as to whether or not the name Non Phixion sounds familiar, it doesn't. Although one of their songs was sampled in the Transporter during a fight scene. Not this song so I will move on. Now this is a remix version of "The CIA is Trying to Kill Me" but this one is far more superior when it comes to rocking. Heavy guitar riffs throughout, they are their hardest in the chorus, make this song a rap/hip hop song that truly rocks. The biggest issue with the song is how much it would have to be edited or cut up since it has more F-bombs then a B-52 bomber. The song is still awesome and deserves to be in GH and has the best chance of any other song from this genre.

Mos Def "Rock & Roll"

Let's stay in the same genre with another pretty good combo of hip hop and rock. With the tightly wound lyrics of Mos Def and the excellent use of a full band to back them up this one is can't miss. The song itself does start out slow, most songs are from his Black on Both Sides album, but the last minute of the song is insane. There is a minute long riff at the end that would make any pure rocker proud. It's not like this is the only section where the guitar is used however the beginning is very repetitive. Any one who plays the song if it were on GH would get sucked into the easy start and get owned in the end. Until of course they played it 30 million times.

James Brown "The Payback"

Get ready you mothers, for the big payback! Anyone who knows me is probably surprised that this isn't "Super Bad, pts. 1-2" due to my love of the movie White Men Can't Jump. I mean people called me Billy Ho when we used to play basketball in gym class back in the day. This isn't about me, its about the man who loves to jump back and kiss himself, hey! Part of me would love to be a fly on the wall, when anyone who thinks they know all of Brown's lyrics for the song, to see them fall on their face or completely screw up the pitch of one of his classic screams. As Eddie Murphy has pointed out before, that is a James Brown lyric. The reason for this song is due to its length and great opening that has probably been sampled, used in many hip hop/rap songs today. Also if anyone makes fun of you for screwing up the song you can drop this gem on them. "I don't know karate, but I know kaRAzy(spelled as pronounced)." So with the heavy amount of bass and guitar in this song, classic James Brown lyrics and it being sampled everywhere, how could this song not be in GH. It couldn't be any of the better knowns, some don't use all the instruments as much as this one. Now come on fellas, hit it and quit it!

George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic "We Want the Funk"

Well funk you very much, now with this song you have to know about its heavy bass line. You also have to know why, Bootsy Collins make it do what it do baby. Make him or George an unlockable and Bootsy's bass, the infamous star design, as well. The best two instruments would have to be bass, duh, and the drums. There could be another song that I just might not know out there that would be better however the ones I have heard this one would be best. Better known then others like "Stomp" that use full band. Plus we need the funk and we gotta have that funk, la da da da da, do do do do do do do owwwwwwwww.

So there you have it. 10 songs that are stuff you have never heard or would ever associate with GH. Other songs that were considered were Busta Rhymes & Lenny Kravitz "Make Noise" (denied because of the amount of profanity, there would be no lyrics if edited) along with "Anxiety" by the Black Eyed Peas. The song itself was just full of guitar riffs around the chorus and in the opening but otherwise it was little used. I could only choose 10 after all, do you know of any you would like to have? Let me hear your thoughts people!