An Open Letter To the Fantasy Gods

Dear Fantasy Gods,

First of all, hello. How's life been treating you? Bet you guys are happy the NFL lockout ended. Me to. In other news, thanks for helping me get second place in my fantasy baseball league. That was great! Last to second place, very nice work.

However, this football season has been very unfair. First in one league you tell me that I have the best draft class. Then you smash my hopes in my survival league as I doubt the Redskins and pick the Giants. Really? You couldn't let Rex Grossman have one turnover in that game? I mean, I guess you made up for it the next week but come on. That isn't even the worst part.

Back to that whole "best draft class" thing. My Group of Flunkies has been exactly that. Three weeks into the season and they have only managed 179 total points. I know you guys know your math but that isnt even 60 points a week. Seriously?!? My highest scorer is Kevin Kolb. KEVIN, wait for it, KOLB! I have Vick, Desean Jackson, Chris Johnson, I mean surely one of them could have an awesome week! On a team with such potential my high scorers I haven't had one good week (until this week where I gave up on Vick - 33 points on my bench - and picked up Grossman - 7 points in my lineup - who was playing the Rams, epic fail. Needless to say, I'm down 26, my opponent is done and I have Addai playing tonight. I could have won.).

Of course I give up on my starters and start playing recent pickups who had good weeks last week, Nate Washington and Grossman against a poor opponent. I play Felix Jones who had a great week last week, on my bench, instead of Johnson and they reverse their production this week. I sit Ben Tate, since you allowed Arian Foster to get healthy, only to watch Foster own and Tate's value flush down the toilet. Also this week Tim Hightower becomes useless since Shanahan can't stick with one RB to handle the majority of the workload. Thanks a lot Shany, in the words of a pop culture icon, "I don't even know you and I hate yo guts." I just can't win, literally.

Also, why in the world do I have to face a QB who has a career week each week. This week, for example, I faced Aaron Rodgers and Cam Newton. I knew going in Rodgers was going to put up good numbers but, dramatic pause, really? He had to put up 53! In each league, occasionally in both, my opponents QB has at least 3 TDs or puts up 20+ points (Newton put up 33, respectively). It is honestly insane. Sure, Vick in week 1 posted good numbers (and this week on my bench as I said before) but he was terrible or injured in weeks 2 and 3. If it isn't their QBs blowing up its two players, as it was in week 1. When playing my uncle, Schaub scores 10. Lesean McCoy and the Bears D go off for 24 each and the only one on my team to produce is Vick.

Fantasy Gods I know you are very busy so I won't bore you with my fantasy football rage. At least for another week. However, if you don't let me win soon my head my explode. I have a wife and child. They don't need to see that. In closing, I hope you enjoy the gift basket that I sent you. It has cookies in the shape of little footballs. I know how much you love those.

One Love,
Brandan

Fantasy Journal - 3 Weeks in the Books

So we are 3 weeks into the NFL and (more importantly in some eyes) the fantasy season. Some might feel ineligible for the playoffs with an 0-3 record (as Sam Jackson would say, "Not me!"). Others are dealing with injuries and/or under performance of top draft picks (officially never drafting Ryan Grant, ever!). All are trying to fix issues, whatever they are. No matter the record, there is always a position that can be amended.

So for the amusement of others (and to let out my fantasy rage) here is how I am doing with my leagues.

ESPN League - Fags On Football (12 team)

• Record - 1-2
• Issues - Oh where to begin with this crapfest of a team. Ryan Grant's ankle kills me, LT's reemergence as...LT destroys my second draft pick in Shonn Greene and Jay Cutler is my starting QB (inconsistency). Cutler leads the league in called back interceptions (5 last Monday...wait he just threw another 1) and I lead my league in lack of scoring. I put up over 100 the first week but could only muster 41 this past week. My WR's haven't been performing (really Colston! NO TD'S! SERIOUSLY?!?! YOU PLAY FOR THE SAINTS! Even David Thomas has a TD!).
• Reasons to have hope - Luckily I drafted decently in later rounds picking up Matt Forte and Thomas Jones. So at RB I think Jones may be my savior (as opposed to Jamaal Charles owners, who look at Jones as Judas) but my major issue comes at WR. Ochocinco blew up in week 1 but since has only led the league in tweets. Colston is allergic to the goalline this season as Brees has thrown to everyone else in this juggernaut of an offense. Luckily Johnny Knox is looking like a genius pickup in the later rounds as he is the clear deep threat in the Bears offense. One issue I left out above is my lack of performance from the TE position. Having Vick under center has hurt Brent Celek owners who were looking forward to a decent season with a Kolb Konnection for double digit TDs. That is not going to happen with Vick out there. I recently acquired Aaron Hernandez from the waiver wire. He leads the league in hype from fantasy "experts" and targets. While he may be without a TD he gets yards and has soft matchups against TE friendly defenses coming up. Like this Monday against Miami who made Dustin Keller look like Antonio Gates. This is the same Keller who still has no idea where the first down marker was after Ray Lewis jacked him up on the previous third down play. Also no one is really walking away with this league. The only one getting crushed...is me.
• Talking trade - I haven't done a decent trade midseason since my championship season on CBS's website (which apparently, no one in that league remembers). I traded for Larry Johnson (when he was still good) and he crushed everyone (everything) in my way. This time I am looking at trading my free agent pickup of Mike Tolbert. San Diego's goalline bloodhound is poaching carries from a struggling Ryan Mathews. So any value I can get from a bye week filler is good. Especially when you consider the Seahawks D, a totally different monster at home, and the fact that I would then own Leon Washington's return value. We each would be taking a chance but I need a D for my bye week, in a 12 team league it's slim pickings.

Yahoo! League - CBS Will Always Suck (10 team friends and family)

• Record - 2-0-1 (first place...first plaaaaaaaaaa-uh-uh-ace, ahead on points)
• Issues - This fun bunch has really underperformed when it comes to defense and RBs. Mostly because of my man crush on Ray Rice which has gotten me 21 points (7 pt avg) and no TDs. Not a good number from a first draft pick. Add to that he has gotten banged up the past two games (knee and ankle) and the sum is one worried fantasy owner. Other under performers are Knowshon Moreno who has been out with a hamstring injury but other than that has been great (that was until Maroney was picked up). While Felix Jones has done absolutely nothing. The Cowboys rushing offense has looked terrible and Jones has only mustered 8 total points through 3 weeks. Fail Jones! Speaking of those 'Boys, I dropped their defense after they looked awful against the 'Skins and Bears. How can you not get a turnover off Jay Cutler in your own house! Then they looked great against the juggernaut known as the Houston Texans. I will pick them back up as they are the type of defense that could get on a hot streak later in the year.
• Reasons I am Number 1 - I am currently riding the Michael Vick experience and it has been pretty awesome. 87 pts (750 yds passing, 6 TDs ; 170 rush yds, TD) has been great. Considering he outperformed Peyton Manning this week, I couldn't be happier. Speaking of week 3, WE FLY HIGH....BOLDIN! It was definitely the Wright decision to stick with him. Eric Wright, you are my MVP for not covering him at all in that game. Good work son! Speaking of avoiding coverage, Antonio Gates has been great as well. He can blow up at any moment and when he isn't scoring TDs he always manages to get yardage. That's more than most can say for their WR/TE flex position.
• Trade bait... - Speaking of Gates, I am not saying I WANT to trade him. However if the right offer came along I might part with him. He has injury issues and with my luck this season (read above ESPN league rage) I feel like he is due. I would want top tier position talent for him, no doubt. He is after all, #1 at his position.

Yahoo! League - Battle for Awesomeness (12 team)

• Record - 2-1 (5th, 205 pts, 198 PA)
• Issues - Ray Rice strikes again. Read above rage about that. Inconsistent QB play (Kolb injury didn't help, wasn't quick enough on Vick in this league) from Carson Palmer who has only 38 pts (29 in week 1...on my bench) and my recent acquisition of Josh Freeman (49 pts, sat last week because of Pitt D) hasn't helped in my past 2 weeks of wins. My other top RB is Jamaal Charles (mentioned above in ESPN rage) who I now get to rage about Thomas Jones. Todd Haley (Chiefs Head Coach) clearly is protecting Charles from being Larry Johnson which is okay. As long as they keep winning and play in the AFC West, Charles will get yards and hopefully long TDs. Jones is great, inside the 20's.
• Reasons to look forward to the playoffs - Austin Collie, while on my bench for his best game, has been looking great. Luckily Pierre Garcon hasn't been able to catch a cold and Anthony Gonzalez is injured...again. Hooray for me! The WR core I have here is pretty solid with Desean Jackson in there as well. Jackson is always great for a big play and considering in this league return points are awarded to a player and NOT team defense there is a reason to think he could find the end zone each week. Speaking of return points, CJ Spiller FINALLY has shown up in the fantasy world. Exploding last week with a return TD and a reception TD he totaled 20 points (YAY!) on my bench (BOO!)
• Trade bait... - Honestly Rice is one I would trade for the right talent. Rice has a great upside. Mainly because he has no where to go but up. With Charles on his bye week and Moreno being solid when he plays I may be able to pass Rice off to a needy team (that is obsessed with him). So if someone is reading this and wants to offer me a decent back or receiver, I am open to trade talks.

So there you have it. Fantasy rage/gloating complete. For now. Want to mock me? Tell me how awesome I am? Suggest a player that could help me? Ask for advice? Insult my ability to end all my blogs with a bunch of questions? Want to leave a comment? Gopher it!

Tuesday Fantasy Yuckfest - 9/14/10 Edition

Whether you want to admit it or not, some of you have already begun dumping players. Thinking some were a bad idea. Hitting the panic button. We are all people and I feel your pain.



This may become a weekly thing where I poke fun at fantasy blunders from the week.



I Want to Punch Myself in the Face for... (additions in bold)

• Having Kevin Kolb and Carson Palmer in two of my leagues and opting to not start Palmer in both games. Palmer would have won me the game and saved me a headache. Speaking of headache, Kolb suffered a concussion in the first quarter (fourth play?) of the game Sunday. Which also effected Desean Jackson's production although Michael Vick was running everywhere (103 yards rushing in the game), that didn't help me this week.


• Making an excellent sleeper pick that I thought could be filler and left him on my bench in week 1. If this is true than Hakeem Nicks(for me it was Knowshon Moreno) was on your bench. Which means you and a buddy of mine in our ESPN league have something in common. Hopefully your team put up more than 28 points though. Just the worst display of fantasy football play ever to only get 28 points. Speaking of a sleeper pick.
• Being able to say this, "Arian Foster alone beat me." I can't say it but if you can, you are not happy right now. While we are on the subject. (added 9/15/10)
• Not drafting Arian Foster. I mean, he wasn't off my radar. Nor was he drafted that late. He looked to be a great later round pickup, honestly though. How often will the Texans run the ball that much? Why do I have a feeling that this question will bite me back later?


• Tying. Seriously Rivers, 4 opportunities and Gates couldn't get 1 ball thrown his way?!? I mean what are you trying to prove? I don't care that he was triple covered, throw him the ball. He's Antonio Gates! You play to win the game!


• Losing to someone who started Santonio Holmes. This was even after I told her he wouldn't do anything. Hello! He's suspended. Unfortunately, Kolb's concussion killed me. Along with well...you know. Sitting Palmer!


• Talking up Ryan Grant. Who apparently has a "significant ankle injury." Great. Just wonderful. Grant looks to be a candidate for my banned from roster list. Which leads me to my next point.


• Not picking up Brandon Jackson immediately when Grant went down. I have Grant in two leagues and attempted to pick him up in my ESPN league (won't know until Weds. if I got him off waivers). He was already gone in my Yahoo! league.

I'm sure there are more out there. Give me your reason for displays of violence against yourself or others. Did you just want to destroy something beautiful? Or want to punch someone who talks so much smack about their championship(s). Let me hear about it!

Fantasy Journal - OMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMG

The fantasy football season starts, TOMORROW! Did your head explode? Mine did. For the past 2 weeks all I've my chronic ESPN and Yahoo following has come to my teams being drafted. Starting lineups prepped, prepped, and prepped again. However, readers of my blog are so far behind. I had two drafts and haven't even bragged/complained about my team yet!



My two Yahoo! drafts went better than expected. Not only was my 12 team league faster than the 10 team in draft time (shocking!) and my teams might not suck! So instead of analyzing all my picks I will tell my position in each draft and who I selected. Each league has a roster as follows:



QB, RB, RB, WR, WR, RB/WR, WR/TE, Defense, Kicker



The first being the 12 team league early Sunday afternoon. A league in which I finished out of the playoffs last season, hello early draft position this season!





League Name - Battle For Awesomeness
Team Name - The Junk Punters



(because a kick to your crotch feels so top notch!) go to the link to get the reference: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vglZCRMbyQ



This season I decided to show my loyalty and my love towards my first pick. With the second pick I snagged Ray Rice, over Captain Fumblitis Mr. Adrian Peterson. Rice killed it for me last year in my ESPN league so I couldn't deny him a spot on my roster. So after him my draft looked like this, pick number in parentheses. Desean Jackson (23), Jamaal Charles (26), Dallas Clark (47) , Kevin Kolb (50), Malcolm Floyd (71), Felix Jones (74), Philadelphia D (95), C.J. Spiller (98), Carson Palmer (119), Lee Evans (122) , Darren Sproles (143), Austin Collie (146), Fred Taylor (167) and Robbie Gould (170). All in all this looks like the best team I have ever had in this league. At least right now they lead the league in high hopes. Kolb is a bit of a risky pick but I wanted at least one QB/WR connection.

Monday 9/13/10 Update:

• Hey, guy who wrote this Saturday, Kolb sure was a risky pick! DUH! Going into the Monday Night games I am down 60-29. I have 3 players remaining, 2 RBs and a WR (Rice @ Jets, Charles vs. SD and Floyd @ KC), so I am not completely out of it yet. Not too confident about Rice against the Jets to open the stadium. Charles and Floyd will hopefully produce against poor defenses. Add to the fact my opponent still doesn't understand what NA next to Santonio Holmes means (it doesn't mean he's carrying narcotics[again], it means he is not active!), I think there is a slight chance. Now excuse me as I punch myself for not just starting Carson Palmer.

My friends and family league (10 team head to head) drafted on Labor Day a little before 1pm. Imagine to my surprise that the guy with the number 1 pick (who didn't want Chris Johnson) ate his entire draft clock therefore autopicking Johnson. In reality he wanted Drew Brees. This is me documenting those actions so he can't say this, "Oh I was just messin' with you guys," at a later time. His length of time to pick should have tipped me off to what was going to be the longest 10 team draft ever. 2 were AUTOPICKS!

League Name : CBS Will Always SUCK!

Team Name: 3 Penis Whiners

("The League" reference)

Once again, Rice went to me as I had an early pick (3rd) and the rest of the draft went like this: Ryan Grant (18), Miles Austin (23), Anquan Boldin (38), Antonio Gates (43), Terrell Owens (58), Carson Palmer (63), Dallas' D (78), Knowshon Moreno (83), Felix Jones(98), Kevin Kolb (103), Ladainian Tomlinson (118), David Akers (123), Sidney Rice (138) and Mike Williams[TB] (143). Looking, "prettay prettay prettay good." If I don't mind saying so. Pretty deep at RB so might be some trade bait there. Or in case of emergency, break open bench!

Monday 9/13/10 Update:

• No punching in this league necessary as I actually start Palmer instead of Kolb. The injury to Ryan Grant hurts considering Moreno sat on my bench with 12 points. While Grant had only 4 and a leg injury. So consider this an emergency. Grant has had ankle problems and that is what the early report is on the injury. If my complaining hasn't told you already, I am down in this game as well. Losing 77-58 with both of us having players going tonight. Rice, Gates and Charles to go while he has Dwayne Bowe and Shonn Greene. I think Green and Rice will match each other while Charles and Gates may explode. Each player is facing a sub par defense and Bowe is to. He has excellent career numbers against the Chargers. I'm not giving up, I'm just being realistic.

Monday Update ESPN League:

• Complete destruction by the Nerf Herders. Matt Forte(30 points) for MVP assisting my team to 93 points and an early 32 point lead on Team AFK. We each have players to go, Baltimore defense for me and Chris Chambers/Jerricho Cotchery for him. Saying his players were of higher caliber I may be worried. Up 32 with only a defense to play, I highly doubt the dynamic duo of Chambers and Cotchery can make up 32+. Special shout out to Ochocinco(21 points), leading the Bengals charge to second place in the AFC North. As for this game, I never will lose this large of a lead to low tier players. I know they say to never say never but I'm saying never!

Well follow the updates to see how my team is or isn't doing. Expect a new journal to tell final results. Good luck tonight to those who need some points to dominate!

Fantasy Journal - With the 11th Pick in the 2010 Draft, The Nerf Herders Select...

Ryan Grant. I know it isn't who I was hoping for but when I logged into the draft to find out what position I would have (the league commish for the 2nd year in a row had first pick, supposedly randomized) I wasn't happy. Really? 11th pick? The WR that were there were decent but not worth a #1 draft pick. So here is how it all went down.

Before the draft I had a meal which I would hope lead to the people in my house giving me some space. Red beans and rice. Unfortunately the unbearable gas didn't happen until after my draft plus my daughter would have thought my farts were hilarious. So after I raged a little at other fantasy nerds who got in there early about my late draft position I took care of some stuff around the house. Ease my mind if you will. But by the time 8:30 came around I was ready to go.

Imagine my surprise to see someone not pick Chris Johnson with the first pick. The draft went as most go, everyone taking RBs besides a couple picking up wideouts (Johnson, from the Texans and Moss, from the Pats). Luckily with the 11th pick this snake draft allows me to jump on another decent back at the 14th pick. So with those picks I made what I thought were the most solid picks left at RB with Grant and Shonne Greene. What felt like hours later I was ready to start picking up my other position players, WRs. As long as I got two decent top tier guys (one who's QB was still on the board) there wouldn't be a problem.

So of course I snagged Marquez Colston and Chad Ochocinco. Carson Palmer was a much later round pick so I knew I could sit on him. Perhaps draft another QB before taking him. The commish failed to make a flex position as he said he would so I had to grab a TE before all the decent ones were gone. Visanthe Shiancoe (from...MORGAN STATE) and Brent Celek were there and due to my loyalty from having him last year, I took Celek. So my position players looked pretty solid especially considering what I was looking at. Now due to what everyone else was doing (going crazy on defenses) the rest of the draft went like no other I normally do.

My next pick is usually a backup/matchup starter. So why not go with Matt Forte, in a Mike Martz system and looking great in preseason. If he couldn't catch out of the backfield Martz being there would hurt him more than help. After this pick I was sitting around waiting for my picks to come up and just watching a decent amount of defenses fly off the board. About 5. I knew if I wanted a top tier unit (albeit a homer pick but still) I would need to act fast. So when it came to me I hopped right on the Ravens defense/special teams. I took a glance at the rosters. Most everyone had QBs and needed more skill position help. So I thought I could let my QB spot go a little longer and picked up Thomas Jones. Yes, I know Jamaal Charles has looked a 1000x better than him but it's still Thomas Jones. He takes every one's job eventually. He most likely will get goal line carries a la Tim Hightower in Todd Haley's system 2 years ago. Now the waiting game.

Okay on the round heading up to me I start seeing QB's go off the board and realize I need to act quickly. Vince Young and David Garrard are taken. Good I didn't want them anyway. I jump on the Cutler train. I know no one wants Cutler. However he finished the season strong in his last few games and I really think Martz being there is going to make a difference for him. Last year was his worst year as a pro. One of my fantasy rules is never expect a repeat of a previous season. This being one of those cases. With my next pick I grabbed his proposed #1 target in Johnny Knox. Figuring that I could grab Carson Palmer on the next go around. Needless to say, I was wrong.

Normally I stay away from kickers until the last round. I don't draft 2 of them (or 2 defenses) because someone always steps up or has a great matchup the 1 or 2 weeks you need them. However when I saw 3 kickers jump off the board before it got back to me I knew I needed to grab the best option. Rob Bironas was there and I scooped him up. Kaeding was off first in the 7th round, Gostkowski to follow in the 8th, Nedney and Longwell in the 9th before I watched Akers (who I wanted), Mason Crosby and Garrett Hartley go. None were drafted in the 11th before I took Bironas but I would rather have him than Nedney or Longwell. I grabbed a backup WR on a reach when I scooped up Eddie Royal who is now the best option in Denver. The rounds are flying by and I realize there are only 3 more to go. Me still with no backup QB. Houston, we have a problem.

So what felt like 5 hours later, was probably a mere 5 minutes, I grab a backup QB. Matt Moore. Yet another reach for a QB. He is another one who looked decent towards the end of last season and he does face such epic defenses as Tampa Bay (this isnt 2003, Derrick Brooks isn't walking through that door), Atlanta and New Orleans. NO being the main one to worry about due to there inate ability to get turnovers. Oh look at that it's my turn to pick again. Why has no one drafted Willis McGahee? I mean especially whoever has Ray Rice should have grabbed him. Well whatever, thanks buddy. McGahee probably won't have a similar year to last year but should be useful for matchups or bye weeks. Especially if he starts getting all the goal line work. Hooray another long wait for my last pick.

With the 179th pick, the Nerf Herders select (long dramatic pause) Mike Williams. Receiver, Tampa Bay. For some reason this AM I felt the need to post this to facebook just to screw around. I thought it was funny and know that anyone who was on at the time didn't care. Honestly at that point in the draft, I didn't care. If I can get someone who has been talked about all over the web with great upside, that is a win. Williams is that guy.

So as of week 1 my roster is going to look like this...

QB - Jay Cutler
RB - Ryan Grant
RB - Matt Forte (against the Lions, sorry Suh)
WR - Marquez Colston
WR - Chad Ochocinco
D/ST - Ravens D
K - Rob Bironas

With the remainder of players hanging on the bench. More than likely, knowing me I will change everything like 80 million times but this looks good to me. Plus I am going against someone who auto picked their draft and managed to grab Sidney Rice (out until late Oct, Nov) so that will be a big fat donut in that roster spot. Since his team is named Team AFK (away from keyboard), last season he never logged in. For some reason the commish invited him back. I think, possibly the two guys are sleeping together. Which would then make sense for the awkward fantasy football name which uses a gay slur in the title. I am too grown for that, well not really.

So if you aren't sleeping already thanks for reading and I will see you back here soon. Especially since I have yet another draft on Sunday. Hooray!

Fantasy Journal - Pre Draft Jitters

Manager's log - Entry 1 - Pre-draft for ESPN League
Team: Nerf Herders

(you can't say that that's our word!)

I am sitting here, mere hours away from my first fantasy draft with pre-draft jitters. Who will I take? Where will I be drafting? Will my head explode?

The answer to those questions will be answered tonight. As far as who to draft? Now that my daughter has gone down for her nap the research/panic can begin. Overthinking it can begin. Honestly I won't know the draft order until 7:30pm EST. I will know what position I will be looking at but come on. My competitor's might read this! Don't wanna give too much away.

Those who know me know my fantasy football drafting beliefs and probably know what I am going after. I have a strong no QB policy in the first round. Don't know why, I just do. Perhaps it is my lack of a man crush on Peyton Manning who usually is the first QB to go. Maybe it is my many man crushes on other position players. Little of both I suppose. Truth is most leagues use 1 QB. I need more good position players than QBs. Not that Manning isn't great. Just that there are others that are good that put up similar if not better numbers than him.

This is my ESPN league which is with mostly people who don't know me. If they remember me from last season they will know that I drafted 5 RBs total for 14 roster spots. This is a league with 1 RB spot and a RB/WR flex spot to start. Very heavy WR based league. My RBs last season, in order of drafting, were Deangelo Williams, Frank Gore, Ray Rice, Jonathan Stewart and Lesean McCoy. I highly doubt I will get Rice as late as I did last season (unless I am in the top 5 to draft) which was a late round reach then. Now, not so much. Deangelo Williams is officially black listed from my fantasy team, he is on the banned list (read one of my previous posts from last season). Too many injuries and not enough performance after a stellar 2008. Possibly a later reach, highly unlikely though. I am hoping for a similar receiving core like I had last season.

As I said, heavy based WR league. With 3 possible spots last season (this season the roster looks to be 2 RB, 2 WR and a TE). In order of draft spot, last season I had T. J. Houschmandzadeh(hooshmazilli, championship!), Vincent Jackson, Desean Jackson (no relation and with my very next pick!) and honestly I don't remember who else. It says something that I remember all of my drafted RBs and not WRs aye? None of them matter to me this season except for D Jax. Vincent is out for the first few games(might hold out for all of them) and Hoosh is not who me or Denny Green thought he was. I pretty much filled in Hoosh's roster spot with randoms throughout the season. Same with my TE spot. Mostly filled last season by Brent Celek. The team got me the king of the loser's title. Which is not what anyone wants. All my big players got hurt in the last week of the regular season (for fantasy) and I needed a win to get into the championship round. Which looking back on it, I would have won had my players not gotten hurt. But if coulda/woulda/buts were candy and nuts we'd all have a merry fantasy season wouldn't we?

Truth is I just wanted to jot down my thoughts which I will probably doing throughout the season. Stay tuned to find out what my roster looks like in all of my leagues. Or don't. Ya jerk!

I'd like you to meet Nelson Jackson...er Steven Cruz...no wait

Ladies, gentlemen and fantasy nerds alike. I would like you to meet Nelson Cruz (on the left above). Those who own him (and his nagging hamstring injury) feel my pain. Also if those same folks play fantasy football, they could see why I would compare him to Steven Jackson. However for those who may not be familiar.

Nelson Cruz plays right field for the first place (surprisingly) Texas Rangers. If it weren't for Josh Hamilton he would be the best outfielder(possibly player) on the team. Cruz has been a monster this season, starting off with a .323 BA, .419 OBP, 7 HR, and 17 RBI in April before his first stint on the DL. Which shut him down until mid-May. Cruz burst back into the lineup only going hitless in 2 games before his second visit to the DL. A mere 14 days(13 games) later. This 2nd visit to the DL felt like an eternity but was only 3 weeks. The Rangers took more precautions due to his quickness to reinjure his hamstring previously. Leaving him on the DL an extra week so he could properly heal(and maybe learn how to stretch during pregame). His second return did not see the same results as his prior one. Cruz only managed 1 homerun in the first two weeks of his return, with several hitless games. However his return lasted much longer (nearly two months!) before breaking at least my heart. His last 4 games were insane before ripping my heart out a la Indiana Jones and The Temple of Doom. After 3 straight hitless games, Cruz rewarded royal owners going 7 for 17 with a HR and 3 RBI's before his third stint on the DL. Right in time for the playoff race. Thanks Nelson! If these comments sound familiar to you than perhaps Steven Jackson is a familiar name.

Add to the fact that any fantasy obsessor has drafts coming up (or already in progress/completed) for fantasy football. One should discuss the value of Steven Jackson. Who only missed one game last season(unlike previous seasons) however his performance plummeted, at least in the TD department. He only had 4 last season. He is the best weapon on a porous Rams offense that ranked 29th in the NFL last season in total offense and - thanks to Jackson - 20th in rushing. Most fantasy geeks like myself avoid Jackson due to his previous seasons (2007 & 2008) when he missed 4 games and his production went down tremendously. Everyone went crazy for Jackson after his stellar 2006 season. I know, I drafted him in 2007. He now is blacklisted from my fantasy teams. That is, unless I am desperate. Ever since then I have seen him drop as low as the fifth round before someone took him. If he goes that long this year, I may have to pull the trigger. Or I could always take a chance on Jahvid Best. If Jackson is around in the 3rd round don't be surprised. I suppose the biggest difference between Jackson and Cruz (other than the sport they play) is their ranking on their respective teams as the best player. Cruz could be seen as second or even third after Josh Hamilton and Vladimir Guerrero. While Jackson is clearly the best weapon on the Rams.

All this leads to the fact that Cruz is only one day away from coming back to the Rangers and my fantasy lineup. Or so I hope. My outfield by committee since then hasn't been great. As long as someone teaches Cruz the art of stretching his hamstring throughout the game (during pregame and every inning, seriously, we need you healthy Nelson!), I think all is well.

So You Want to Play a Fantasy Sport

So you want to play a fantasy sport eh? Well I am here to assist you with the hardest thing involving doing just that.

No, I'm not going to tell you who you should pick with your first selection. No, I'm not going to tell you how to annihilate your friends. Although I could tell you how to get annihilated by your buddies. No, that is not what this post is about. My friends and readers alike, this is about the first thing your opponent sees every week. What haunts people's dreams and nightmares. What I am going to help you do folks is...name your team.

This may seem like a mundane and silly task to some. To others (Brandon Waters) it might seem a bit difficult to be creative and come up with your own stuff. I only tease since Brandon borrowed my Lethal Interception Crew name this past season. Unlike some people, I feel the need to change my name every year a la Chad Johnson/Ochocinco/Child Please/WhoGivesaCrap. All of which, in my opinion are awesome. To give you an idea of some of my team names...

B-Town Brawlers, Motherfuggin Snakes (Snakes on a Plane had just come out), AK-Forty Sevens("because when you have to kill every MFer in the room except no substitute", Sam Jackson in Jackie Brown...paraphrased a little, got to keep it clean for the kids), Lethal Interception Crew (Boondocks reference), Team Awesome-O (lame but come on, South Park rules and the league name was battle for awesomeness), A Team Named Slickback (you have to say the whole name, its like A Tribe Called Quest, another Boondocks reference) and Glorious Basterds (because Quentin Tarantino owns my soul).

Now that you have some examples you can steal them or use these few helpful tips.

1. Personnel Related Team Name

• As a fan of Chinese food and Pork Fried Rice, this season in my ESPN league , I thought about calling my team Gore Fried Rice (I had Frank Gore and Ray Rice). I have heard some classics throughout the years like Brady's Bunch, I Just Addai'd in Your Arms Tonight(personal favorite) or The Wieter-Mobile(which is just more proof how awesome Matt Wieters is. My buddy called his team this in our fantasy football league this past season and needless to say he won the championship via epic beatdown proportions). Now some I haven't seen are I'm a Manning I'm 40 (or if you have Matt Forte and a Manning, I'm a Manning I'm Forte), A Rivers Runs Through It, Open the Flood Gates, 64 Calories of MJD or Our Lord Breesus Christ. There are millions of possibilities.

2. Chappelle's Show/Boondocks/South Park/Your Favorite TV Show References

• If you aren't a fan of those selected above it is no big deal. However I have used some references from these shows and have many stored in my memory to use in the future. I haven't used all of these but here are some that can be used - The Playa Hatas, What the 5 Fingas Said to the Face(or just name your team Slap!), Team Named Slickback, Lethal Interception Crew, The Group of Flunkees, We Pee on You, Wu Tang Financial, A MFin Shark Ate Me, I Like Fishsticks, I Made Chili from Ur Parents (South Park reference in case you don't know) and the list could go on for days. Those who know me are probably shocked to not see Family Guy or Simpson references but again, this list could go on for daaaaaaaaaaays.

3. Samuel L. "MFin" Jackson Quotes

• Who Sucks? Not Me!, Motherfuggin Snakes, Yes You Deserve to Lose, I Hope You Burn in Hell, AK-Forty Sevens, Ezekiel 25:17, The Ones who Say Bad MFer on Them and honestly there are endless possibilities. Personally, avoid Black Snake Moan quotes. Most people won't want to admit they watched that movie. If you have a favorite movie of the legend that is SLJ, even if it is Black Snake Moan, take your favorite quote from the movie and make it your team name. In my opinion, it is a fantasy team name win!

4. Pop Culture References

• This can be anything current in our culture. For example, this past season my girl named her team shankapotami because of the E-Trade commercials where the baby calls the guy a shankapotomus. As you read above I named a team Glorious Basterds because readers, "business was-ah boomin'!" This method takes a little humor/creativity. I mean to get one of these all you have to do is watch the ole boob tube.

5. Sports Movie References

• In case of emergency, break open sports movie references. Since I am a fantasy football guy most of my examples are football movies but there is an enormous amount of awesome sport movies that can be referenced. Of course, I will give examples. Necessary Roughness, The Wildcats, The Program, Remember the Titans (Dismembering Titans is also a good one), The Express, Hoosiers (Whoosiers...ooo real creative right?), The Hustlers, We Got Game, I mean I could do this all day. Just like the Sam Jackson quotes, pick a favorite and run with it.

6. Music Group References

• Another never ending list is possible here where you could pick a top musician/group and just go with the flow. Perhaps I may touch on one of your favorites and you can just pilfer one of my ideas. A Tribe on a Quest(stolen from Brandon Waters), RZA the Razors(Razaz), Young Clean Gentlemen (a play on O.D.B. for those who don't know), Ghostface Killahs(spell it however you want), Who Tang Clan, MegaDEATH, Mos Def...inetly Champ, The Funky Homosapiens(Del), Beasts of Boys, Inspectah Deck You in the Face, BBD (Big Bad Dudes), Big Punishers, Disastrous Peoples, Quannum Emcees, Jedi Mind Trix and many many others. Just push the creativity button in that big brain of yours and use it with one of your favorites.

7. Support Your Team/City/Favorite Player

• Whether supporting a favorite team/player by showing them love or hate for a rival, representing a hometown/current city or dissing the location of said hated rival. However it can be done is fine. Some examples seen/used are CowboyKillaz, Ravenssuck(what makes me mad is the dude who named his team that won our league the first season we played fantasy), BlitzBerg, The Steel Curtain, Purple People Eaters, Bmore Brawlers, Urlached-in, and Ray of Light (or now maybe Ray of Rice) are just a few. Either way you go is a victory.

8. Self Promotion

• GETS YOU A MUTE! All Around The Horn references aside, this is one way to talk yourself up in your league. Have you won it all in your league? Won 8 games in a row (some sites let you change your team name anytime, as many times as you want)? Won trophies? Want a trophy? Make it known with a self promotion team name. Something like The Repeater, ThreePeat, I Own You, Complete Pwnage, Johnny 2 Time Champ (can't go wrong with a Goodfellas reference), 8 is GRRREAT, Get a Broom (since I'm sweeping the floor with you, BOO YAH! SWEET SASSY MOLASSEY!), Beatdown Central, Central Beatdown Authority (we authorize the right, to put a whoopin' on you!), etc. etc. Honestly, how would you like to mock your friends and boost your own esteem. Then insert said phrase as your team name and voila, you got yourself a self promotion team name. Now give yourself a pat on the back, you earned it!

9. Self Mockery

• Or did you earn it? Since I haven't earned squat in Yahoo or ESPN, this is going to be my route of choice when it comes to my team name. I am thinking that since I can make it to the playoffs and then choke, I could call my team the December Swooners or Cowboys Circa 2006. If I could get to the championship game repeatedly and lose...I would call my boys the Illadelphia Spiegels. Sorry Philly, haven't won a big game in football/basketball in a long time (woo Phils is what they will say). If those don't tickle your fancy, try these gems on for size. The Baltimorons (sure why not mock your hometown and your knowledge of football, Bea!), No Trophy No Problem, Playoff Pretenders, Suck-ond Place, Legendarily Bad or Can I Get A Little Less Suck. The harder you make it on yourself through a team name the more laughs people will get out of it. You might snicker a little to. Don't lie, you know you will.

10. Inside Jokes

• I don't know if you have any inside jokes with friends, especially those you play fantasy football/baseball/hockey/basketball/badminton/whatever with. Odds are you have one or two that may be able to get twisted into a team name. They could even mock someone. Know of a time a buddy used a horrible pick up line on a girl? Hey, if you remember the line, throw it in there. For example, a friend of a friend was down on the boardwalk in Ocean City, MD. His line(s) were, Hey You in the Yellow/My Watch is Nice. Two separate lines but both with the same result. Being ignored. At the time it was a pretty funny moment. Inside jokes are great to have with your friends and should always be revisited as often as possible. Especially if they mock your opponent because isn't that what fantasy sports are all about? The more you know, now cue the star to shoot over my head.

Some of you are going to say, "That's too many characters for my team name!" Well who's fault is that? Certainly not mine. Besides, who relies on some dude typing his thoughts on some lame blog to name their team anyway? Who? I'll tell you who! Not me!

10 Things I Have Learned About Fantasy Football

So after my improbable dismissal from the ONLY league I was eligible for a championship, I thought I should pass along a little advice. This also could be considered a cry for help to the man who utterly owned me this week (he had Ray Rice, Andre Johnson, Buffalo defense and Jay Feely), I hate you. Hate is such a strong word, despise sounds better.

So the top 10 things I have learned about Fantasy Football...

10) I am the Dallas Cowboys of Fantasy Football

Yeah I know I am an 8 win team in the regular season but let's face it, I just can't win in any format besides CBS. I would fire my coach but I just don't have the heart. I like him too much. Besides, he is great in the regular season!

9) Don't believe the hype of last year

This is directed at Steve Slaton. He utterly killed me this year. I drafted him as my second back to Maurice Jones Drew. I love MJD and would pick him again in a second. However I will be against having Slaton on my team ever....EVER...AGAIN! He is now added to the banned player list which leads me to..

8) Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice...

Without completely mocking "Dubbya", I can never be fooled again. Previous drafts for me lead me to my banned from my team list. On that list is, Steven Jackson, Larry Johnson and Drew Brees. Why Drew Brees? I don't want to ruin his career. He is only great for me when he is on my bench. Call it voodoo, call it whatever you will, Drew Brees will not be on my roster. I like him too much.

7) Time to invite my buddies significant others

Previously to this season I haven't had to live down the infamous, "Dude even your girl made it further then you!" In my defense my girlfriend actually does follow football and knows 99% of the players and all of which who are on her roster. However my aunt doesn't even know who Adrian Peterson is. "I just drafted who was at the top of the list, who is this Adrian Peterson guy?" Also she once picked Kyle Boller and said that Yahoo! suggested it. NO ONE BELIEVES YOU! She always makes the playoffs! ALWAYS! Ignorance is bliss I suppose.

6) In case of emergency...

I have known this after my first season when I watched another team fall apart. However my lesson didn't stick this year when I dropped Jonathan Stewart who I had drafted for this very rule. If you draft Ronnie Brown, Deangelo Williams, Brian Westbrook, Larry Johnson or Steven Jackson grab their backup later in the draft(like you will for Stewart, Ricky Williams or Lesean McCoy). If not that at least keep an eye on the waiver wire because other owners are vultures. They love to watch you squirm and panic.

5) Do you want to play the repeater?

Do you want to play the repeater? All Super Troopers quotes aside, no one ever has a repeat performance of the previous season. Who here wants to drive to Atlanta to punch Michael Turner in the face? Well, maybe not that since he is bigger then you. But don't you want to kick him in the shin? No, because he could sue. Don't you want to write him a nasty e-mail? There it is. Don't draft a guy who has a blow up season the year before and expect the same results. If Brady and Manning can't do it, who can? These are just some shenanigans, no one likes my shenanigans, oooooh silly shenanigans! Or you could go to that place with all the crap on the walls and the mozzarella sticks. (too many references for you, TOO BAD)

4) There are exactly 10 QBs worth their weight in gold

Maybe not even that but what I mean by this is that there are only a few quarterbacks that are going to average double digit points for you. Everyone knows a few (Brees, Manning, Favre, Rivers, Warner, etc). You need to grab the one that no one thinks of. This season that was Favre and Matt Schaub. While everyone was spending their first QB pick on Tom Brady, probably because he is so dreamy, the person who got Schaub later scooped up another position player. I'm not saying to grab Schaub with your first pick next year, especially since there is always a sleeper. My pick for next year is Joe Flacco. Call me Wacko for Flacco if you want. The guy is going to be an absolute beast next year, that is, as long as Derrick Mason doesn't retire again.

3) Late round running back WIN!

The past two years we have seen later round backs go absolutely crazy. As a Raven fan I am super happy that this year it was Ray Rice. Every year there is always one and I can't even pretend who next year's is going to be. The guy could get drafted this year. I only have been lucky enough one season when I drafted Adrian Peterson in his rookie season(in like the 10th round). It was the first and last time I was able to say that he was on my roster. You are sadly missed sir. However I did hit a homerun with a late round WR in Percy Harvin. So...there's that.

2) Hit the waiver wire early for sleepers

I can't say how many times I got on to my fantasy site on Tuesday afternoon to see a couple of people already active in picking up guys I wanted to scoop up for bye week fills or injury replacements. This year it killed me since I needed a TON of running back help with Slaton not doing much/getting hurt. Add to the fact that owners can start 3 in my leagues and anyone can see how I could have a problem. Also there are such things as making too many moves. Something I do a lot. My name is Brandan Spiegel and I am an over thinker when it comes to fantasy football. Where's the free coffee and baked goods?

Ladies and Gentleman, the number one thing I have learned about fantasy football is...

1) Play with people you are friends/enemies/or at least know

If there is one thing that The League (best comedy on FX...EVER) has taught us, it is that a tight knit group of buddies playing fantasy football is pretty awesome. It is like a family. A very, very dysfunctional family. One that you may call gay, retarded or threaten to kill on a weekly basis. One that you can threaten harm, deadly diseases or tragic ways to die on players who have scorned you that week. Now, losses in leagues of people that aren't known don't hurt less. It is a lot easier to get away from them when you lose to some schmo who has never met you. Saying all this there is only one other thing to say. A message to Alex Tirdil, Antoine Pollard, Brandon Waters, Michelle Landers, Bea Wells, Lauren Webster, John Moore, Marcel Cottman, and Nick Barnes...I hate you guys and I love you guys.

If you don't get it readers, you are missing out on quite a fantasy football group. Call them your best buddy, your girlfriend/boyfriend, spouse, significant other(or insignificant other once you guys play fantasy together, BAHZINGA), uncle, aunt, co-worker it doesn't matter. Once September starts, another part of you opens up. Even discussions about the league in June get you pumped up. "When is the draft?" "Who you pickin'?" "Dude you suck!" Oh yes, it begins when you set up the league. My readers, the fun never stops. It lasts a lifetime.

Fantasy Football Awards - Week 9

For those of you who follow the blog my love for fantasy football is on display on a regular. Currently I belong to three leagues, two of which I am the commish. Sadly I have been busy and unable to keep up with my award posts. So its been almost a month without my input. So here is the long awaited weekly awards for week 9. As the familiars might know, two awards will not appear in this article to save the identities of those who had their hearts broken in our nailbiter of the week or for those who suffered the biggest beat down of the week, whoever had the worst luck ending up against Kurt Warner and Deangelo Williams. Your rear really hurts from the whooping you took.

For the scoring system click the link below:

http://bsingwithbs.blogspot.com/2009/09/scoring-system-for-fantasy.html

Moving on to the awards.

Week 9 Fantasy Football Awards

Our first award this week goes to a unit who let down everyone in week 9. So far this season they have had terrible numbers, mainly the past few weeks (against the Browns doesn't count). Two weeks in a row they have finished with negative points which is why this one hurts. Surprisingly still owned by 70% of teams in Yahoo!(more then top week 9 performers Seattle, Cincinnati and Tampa Bay) and only 48% started. So that 48% was pretty upset when they turned on their computer to find out that Arizona had destroyed this team at home. Ladies, gentleman and fantasy geeks I present you with this week's...

CHOKE ARTIST OF THE WEEK


Chicago Defense - -1 points (41 PA, int, sack)


This is just unacceptable for a defense to do this once let alone two weeks in a row. If you played them last night you aren't mad at them but after last week, who would have done that? In a week where you easily could have filled the void with classy match ups like Seattle vs. Detroit in week 9, you should have done it. Most owners were probably foaming at the mouth thinking Warner was going to be awful like in the previous week. The Cardinals are a completely different team on the road (why I have no idea) with an undefeated record. A complete reverse of last season when they never won on the east coast until the postseason. Warner has been smashing fools on the road including two monsters in the Eagles and Giants. I'm sure there were others that broke your heart last week, like Clinton Portis who got 0 points and a concussion. If you are relying on any Redskins to get you fantasy points, clearly that is desperation. I would know, I had to pick up Ladell Betts this week!

If you need a quick pick up on defense take a look at the Falcons. While they are going to get run all over, Delhomme is always due for turnovers. Add to the fact that they are only 44% owned in Yahoo! could make them a quick fix. Another sleeper is the Titans(42% owned in Yahoo!). While I hate them as much as most fantasy owners(I had them most of the season when they were scoring negative numbers then I scooped up the Saints D, haven't looked back since) they are getting healthier and face an abysmal Bills team this week.


NOTABLE PERFORMANCE OF THE WEEK


So this award goes to a team/player who does really well just not as well as the MVP of the week. 47% owned in Yahoo! leagues shows that he is a bit of a sleeper. People gave up on him even though he faces a lack luster division lineup with poor pass defenses. In week 9 he outscored fantasy studs like Tom Brady, Big Ben, Philip Rivers and the Manning brothers. I find it amusing that he outperformed Tom Brady since this week's award goes to...


Matt Cassel 24 points (262 yds, 2 TDs, 2 pt conversion)


This one is a bit of a shocker. Which in my mind is what this award is about. Someone who isn't widely owned, who does well, that someone could pick up this week if need be. While he does face the stout, sarcasm much, Oakland Raiders D this week, he will have decent numbers. At least better than Eli or Matt Schaub who are on bye this week. Potentially better then Brady once again who is facing the Colts vicious pass rush and lowest scoring defense in the league. Cassel may have a terrible line but he does have some dangerous weapons in Dwayne Bowe and Jamaal Charles. Cassel is a bit of a Jekyll and Hyde player where some weeks he is great and others he is terrible. Hopefully this week he can pull it off for some of you desperate QB people out there in those 12 or 14 team leagues.


MOST VALUABLE PLAYER


There is no point in me even toying with this one. I hinted at his dominance earlier and he cost me a game this week (thank god the other person I faced sat him in favor of Jay Cutler, still beat me unfortunately...by 5!). It is blatantly obvious who this week's MVP is...

Kurt Warner 40 points (261 yds, 5 TDs)

What he did to the Bears defense was just completely unfair. I wish he would have only gotten those TDs to the tight ends since the guy I played also had Fitzgerald but that is neither here nor there. Warner is either putting up numbers like this, if on the road, or putting up 5 turnovers, if at home. It is hard to tell which one will show up from week to week but with the weapons at his disposal its hard not to like his chances for multiple TDs every week. He is going to be facing the Rams(twice, week 16 being the 2nd time which, in some cases, is the fantasy championship game), 49ers and Seahawks at least one more time with those last two being on the road where he excels. Warner is still in my fantasy football hall of fame for last year when I got him in the last round or at the end of the preseason when I picked him up off waivers and dropped Leinart. It is one guy I don't want to see in the fantasy postseason with his potential match ups. Our playoffs are weeks 14-16. Meaning that Warner is going up against the legendary defenses of the 49ers, Lions and Rams. Even if Warner is hurt every owner should scoop up Leinart immediately just to avoid the potential beat down he could give you.


So there you have it folks. Those of you who I am in the leagues with congrats to the owners who have these players. For the others, thanks for checking out the blog. I apologize for the lack of awards. Thanks to a no Facebook bet, I was able to focus! See you next time, same BS time, same BS channel...er, I mean blog.

Fantasy Football Awards - Week 6

For those of you who follow the blog my love for fantasy football is on display on a regular. Currently I belong to three leagues, two of which I am the commish. Hope the readers enjoyed parto de cinco(spanglish for part 5...duh), now its time for.... the sixth version. Running out of silly names so maybe I will try harder next week. As the familiars might know, two awards will not appear in this article to save the identities of those who had their hearts broken in our nailbiter of the week or for those who suffered the biggest beat down of the week, whoever had the worst luck ending up against Tom Brady and Deangelo Williams. Your rear really hurts from the whooping you took.



For the scoring system click the link below:



http://bsingwithbs.blogspot.com/2009/09/scoring-system-for-fantasy.html



Moving on to the awards.

Week 6 Fantasy Football Awards

Our first award this week goes to a man who needs no introduction. With so many experiencing bye weeks and injuries this past week this guy was a huge reach. If you wanted a possibility of points then why not scoop him up. In my opinion he probably won't be starting in real football so you probably shouldn't have him in your fantasy roster, ever! The QB might be getting Young-er, if you get my drift. The crafty ole veteran himself earned himself the...


CHOKE ARTIST OF THE WEEK

Kerry Collins - -4 points (-7 pass yds, 1 int; -1 rush yd, fL)

More then likely if you had him you weren't stupid enough to start him (6% start in Yahoo!) however he totally deserves the award. I don't care if it was snowing, clearly that had no effect on Brady. Collins has to be replaced as the starter by Vince Young. With the team standing at 0-6 it seems like an obvious decision. They need to figure out if Young is the real deal or if they need to burn a draft pick on a QB next year. Odds are that if you rely on Collins your season is over in fantasy and you are planning on hunting him down. Pick up Young as any day now he is or needs to be starting. I know everyone is experiencing bye week drama but unless your league is really deep one QB should still be available. Chad Henne (14% owned in Yahoo!) is out there and has the ability to throw the deep ball. He looked great against the Jets so anything can happen.


NOTABLE PERFORMANCE OF THE WEEK


So this award goes to a team/player who does really well just not as well as the MVP of the week. 19% of people in Yahoo! leagues decided to sit him for various reasons. Potent Giants defense, lack of TDs in previous weeks or you forgot to put him in after his bye. Now you get to kick yourself after he makes it rain in New Orleans like Pacman Jones at a strip club. Instead of dollar bills, it was raining TD passes. Normally his numbers might get him MVP honors but due to a man named Brady he couldn't quite do it. However his numbers were still very impressive. Who dat? It's....

Drew Brees 38 points (369 yds, 4 TDs)

While I may have abandoned ship on picking complete shockers, to some this was a complete shock. Out dueling the Giants by 21 points, putting up nearly half a century mark against such a strong defense (even at home) is insane. Certifiably insane. Sean Payton is clearly the offensive genius we thought he was. The Saints offense is clearly the welterweight champion of the NFL, oh yes, it's the Juggernaut people. The Giants learned the hard way and what shocks me the most is that they still aren't ranked number 1 in anyone's power rankings.


MOST VALUABLE PLAYER


There is no point in me even toying with this one. It is blatantly obvious who this week's MVP is.

Tom Brady 51 points (380 yds, 6 TDs)

It was just completely unfair what he did to the Titans. Their defense is poor enough but he could have stopped at 4, even 5. That would have been enough. In classic Belichick form they run up the score, probably because Billy boy has Brady in his fantasy league. Odds are he will have, not a repeat performance, but darn close to last week. The Bucs are another poor defense but the travel across the pond has hindered teams from performing before. Who will it take its toll on this week? My money is on the Bucs.

So there you have it folks. Those of you who I am in the leagues with congrats to the owners who have these players. For the others, thanks for checking out the blog. I apologize for the delay for the awards. Unfortunately for my writing skills I have gotten hooked to those silly Facebook games. Ooooh, I wonder if it's time to pick my crops? Gotta run! Until we BS again.

Fantasy Football Awards - Week 5

For those of you who follow the blog my love for fantasy football is on display on a regular. Currently I belong to three leagues, two of which I am the commish. Hope the readers enjoyed Part IV (with the Russian), now its time for.... parto de cinco (spanglish for part 5...duh). As the familiars might know, two awards will not appear in this article to save the identities of those who had their hearts broken in our nailbiter of the week or for those who suffered the biggest beat down of the week, whoever had the worst luck ending up against Matt Hasselback and Minnesota's defense. Your rear really hurts from the whooping you took.

For the scoring system click the link below:

http://bsingwithbs.blogspot.com/2009/09/scoring-system-for-fantasy.html

Moving on to the awards.


Week 5 Fantasy Football Awards


Our first award this week goes to a man who hasn't given up much this season. When a team loses a game you can rarely blame on person. So you have to blame one entire side of the ball in this case. While it made for a very entertaining game on Monday Night, this team also allowed as many TDs in one quarter as they had in the entire season. Last clue is they made Chad Henne look like Dan Marino, says their own coach! If you had them you probably started them because of their ownage of opposing offenses (88% owned, 67% start in Yahoo! ; 100% owned by the Wildcat). So yes, thanks to the wildcat, say hello to this week's...

CHOKE ARTIST OF THE WEEK

New York Jets Defense - -1 point (31 PA)

What shocks me about this stat line the most is that, against a guy in his second start, they were unable to sack him or create a turnover. Their offense looked great with Braylon Edwards(sorry Browns fan/Lebron's homie) but their defense looked terrible in the fourth quarter. Most of the game they were okay but that last period was insane. Rex Ryan was ashamed of his own defense and felt the need to dog the Wildcat. Just because it dogged you Rex doesn't mean you have to insult the formation. The Dolphins are one of the few (if not only team) that can run this formation because they have the personnel for it. A QB that can air it out, two backs who are similar in rushing style and a vicious O-line. Add Pat White to the mix and you have a lot of looks that this one formation can give you. I don't see this formation going away so just deal with it Rex. If you had the team you had in Baltimore maybe you could have stopped it. I mean you had no problem stopping this in the playoffs last season.

Pierre Garcon with zero points this week gets notable FAIL mention this week. Second best Pierre in fantasy my foot!


NOTABLE PERFORMANCE OF THE WEEK


So this award goes to a team/player who does really well just not as well as the MVP of the week. Unlike previous entries this one actually is a surprise that he did so well. This week he was number one at his position which is shocking considering the weeks that Roddy White, Jeremy Maclin, Andre Johnson or the Seahawks combo of Houshmandzadeh/Burleson had. So the man with a 30% increase in ownage this week (100% ownage of the Chefs who were cooking up a victory, so they thought). Look out Roy Willams, you may have just lost your starting spot to...


Miles Austin 24 points (250 rec yds, 2 TDs; 24 ret yds)

In week 5 only a few people took a chance on him, he was 35% owned with 15% of those actually starting him in Yahoo!, but everyone is hopping on the midnight train to Austin. Lame I know but this guy owned a pitiful KC secondary and helped one owner in my league(shout out to Lauren for having the balls to start him) in beating down another opponent. Now this has sports media asking, "Roy who?" Patrick Crayton was a complete non-factor unless you consider fumbling that punt making him a factor for Dallas. With Jason Witten declining, he hasn't done anything yet this season, and their backfield suffering from injuries on a regular, Jones and Barber with knee and quad issues, who knows what the future could bring for the king of Austin, TX. He now owns a franchise record for receiving, that is saying something considering the likes of Michael Irvin walking the halls in Dallas. With bye weeks steadily increasing for everyone, its worth covering extra Miles for Austin. Chris Berman ain't got nothin' on me!

A lot of players deserve to be here so here is a quick hit for you guys;
Donovan McNabb 31 pts, Ahmed Bradshaw 25 pts, Roddy White 22 pts and Jeremy Maclin 19 pts


MOST VALUABLE PLAYER


Two guys came back strong from rib injuries this week. Antoine Pollard is not one of them(he almost choked on a bone at Famous Dave's). That last part may not be true but what is is that each QB owned this week. I already mentioned McNabb but this guy clearly means more to his team, considering without him they lost the past 3 games.

Matt Hasselback 35 points (241 pass yds,4 TDs; 23 rush yds)

I assume that not a lot of people followed his injury status as heavily as I did since the two leagues I own him in he started. Of course my other options were Kerry Collins (ew) and Philip Rivers (on a bye) in one league with Matt Ryan against SF in the other. The fact that I also own Houshmandzadeh and finally am getting my draft picks worth out of him is, for lack of a better term, extremely relevant. None of my friends will admit that I told them that my man crush for Hasselback was almost as large as my affection for MJD. Hasselback was my sleeper QB in all of my drafts and luckily he fell to me twice. As long as he is healthy and/or playing someone in his division you may have to start him. Since this week only 20% of his owners started him and 39% of leagues didn't even own him in Yahoo! I'm sure that will change this week. Bye weeks and tough matchups for studs like Philip Rivers, @ Denver, or injury problems like Eli Manning will do that to owners. At least this week I owned the MVP of the week. Hope to keep that streak alive!

So there you have it folks. Those of you who I am in the leagues with congrats to the owners who have these players. For the others, thanks for checking out the blog. Think there should be another player on here instead of those listed? Want to make fun of me for my obsession with fantasy football? Go ahead in the comments below. Until we BS again.

Fantasy Football Awards - Week 4

For those of you who follow the blog my love for fantasy football is on display on a regular. Currently I belong to three leagues, two of which I am the commish. Hope the readers enjoyed the remix edition (of the blog about...fantasy awards), now its time for...Part IV (with the Russian). As the familiars might now, two awards will not appear in this article to save the identities of those who had their hearts broken in our nailbiter of the week or for those who suffered the biggest beat down of the week,whoever went over the Rivers and through San Fran's D to the beat down you went. Just go with me on that one.


For the scoring system click the link below:



http://bsingwithbs.blogspot.com/2009/09/scoring-system-for-fantasy.html



Moving on to the awards.

Week 4 Fantasy Football Awards

Our first award this week goes to a man who you may not even own or probably, if you do, didn't start him (21% owned, 10% started in Yahoo!). However an injury to the starting back and considering the defensive juggernaut his team played this week, Houston, one would think he would have done okay. Obviously if he would have he wouldn't be this week's...



CHOKE ARTIST OF THE WEEK



Michael Bush - -1 point (10 rush yds, 4 rec yds, fL)



While usually I have people here that are widely used or at least owned, I made a special exception for Bush. After the first week of the season it looked like Oakland might have a decent running game with Bush and McFadden. However since then he hasn't done much. Against the Texans he only had 3 carries. For most backs that might have totalled at least 3-4 fantasy points. It looks like Justin Fargas might be the true backup here who will be taking over for McFadden while he is out with his knee injury. Fargas had 10 carries against the Texans. Either way, if you are using anyone but McFadden from Oakland (I say that because I have him in a league), you aren't doing well. As Antoine might say, "your team is bad and you should feel bad!" After his injury and his team's lack of performance I had to trim the fat this week with McFadden. I would suggest that you all do it to. For God sakes you 21% out there, cut Bush loose. Pick up a quality RB like Lesean McCoy(45% owned, come on you know Westbrook is going to get hurt), Tim Hightower(68% owned) or even Mewelde Moore(as long as Parker is hurt, 13% owned) to take his place. I know bye weeks have started but no excuses. NONE!

Honorable choking mention goes to Tennessee's once potent defense. They scored 0 points in our format, probably less in others. What happened, Haynesworth was not that good. He didn't cover WR, of course neither did you guys this week. Bums!





NOTABLE PERFORMANCE OF THE WEEK



So this award goes to a team/player who does really well just not as well as the MVP of the week. In most cases its a surprise that they did so well. This week we are back to a player that not only I mocked (and will always mock) but not many out of the 84% in Yahoo! who have him started him. Only 30% of those started him last week. He outperformed studs like Aaron Rodgers(that hurts doesn't it Packer fan), Philip Rivers, Tom Brady and Drew Brees(who was held without a TD again). Some would say he is a crafty veteran, I would say he is an indecisive old man...

Brett Favre 28 points (271 yds passing, 3 TDs)

So the 70% of the owners who had him are kicking themselves for not using that late round hail mary as opposed to Brady or Brees. If people don't have Favre in your league this week, scoop him up fast. More then likely he will only throw the ball 20-25 times against the Rams but clearly he has the weapons to get into the end zone frequently. Also, it is the Rams. Name a QB who didn't have a monster game against them so far. Jason Campbell doesn't count. Even Shaun Hill put up fantasy numbers in the twenties against them. Back to Favre, with Berrian back in the lineup on Monday it added another deep threat(in addition to Percy Harvin who was held out of the endzone for the first time this year) to heave towards for the gunslinger. Morgan State's own Visanthe Shiancoe has also become a decent red zone target. If Peterson can't win it for them, clearly Favre can. So congrats Favre owner but prepare to start using him for trade bait before he falls down that slippery slope like he did last season.

Philip Rivers needs an honorable mention with 26 points this week (254 pass yds, 3 TDs, fL). He did all this to frighten at least 1 Steeler fan, maybe more, with a nearly epic comeback in the fourth quarter on Sunday night. My girlfriend Michelle was going to try and pass out; then, due to the rubbery texture of the "steel curtain" in the fourth quarter this season, she was unable to. Whatever though, go Rivers, I needed all those points my friend. You will be missed during your bye week.

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER

Joe Montana, Jerry Rice, Tom Rathman, Steve Young, Roger Craig, Dwight Clark and John Taylor are very proud of this unit. I am willing to bet that Ronnie Lott and Bryant Young are even more proud.

San Francisco Defense 39 points (0 PA, 5 Sacks, Int, 2 fR, 3 TDs)

Unfortunately I played against this week's MVP yet again, that makes two in a row. Once again we have a defense completely destroying a team, well that is if you want to call the Rams a football team. Kyle Boller was in classic form throwing across his body back into the middle of the field. Only to have it picked off by Patrick Willis (beast) and he had reservations for 6. I don't see this being the last time this team puts up a big number, they do play the Rams again after all. Singletary has this team playing his kind of football with strong defense, no turnovers on offense and pounding the rock. Look at that Marvin Lewis, a defensive mind with a good defense. Who would have thought? I can't say it enough but defenses are not supposed to score this much in fantasy, this season has been ridiculous. I don't know if this can happen again but you can never say never.

So there you have it folks. Those of you who I am in the leagues with congrats to the owners who have these players. For the others, thanks for checking out the blog. Think there should be another player on here instead of those listed? Want to make fun of me for my obsession with fantasy football? Go ahead in the comments below. Until we BS again.

Fantasy Football Awards Week 3

For those of you who follow the blog my love for fantasy football is on display on a regular. Currently I belong to three leagues, two of which I am the commish. Hope the readers enjoyed the first edition, now its time for...REMIX EDITION (of the blog about...fantasy awards?). As the familiars might now, two awards will not appear in this article to save the identities of those who had their hearts broken in our nailbiter of the week or for those who suffered the biggest beatdown of the week,whoever went over their calories going against MJD 64 and Peyton Manning.

For the scoring system click the link below:

http://bsingwithbs.blogspot.com/2009/09/scoring-system-for-fantasy.html


Moving on to the awards.


Week 3 Fantasy Football Rewards


Our first award this week goes to a man who this season does not automatically mean championship. So far this season he has amassed a lot of targets but not a lot of results. It's not all his fault, Matt Hasselback's ribs are also to blame. Ladies and Gentleman, you might know him has Whosyourmama, Houshmazilly or my personal favorite...


CHOKE ARTIST OF THE WEEK

T.J. Houshmandzadeh (93% owned, 57% started in Yahoo!) - -1 point (35 rec yds, fL)

A lot of people have begun to drop him because of not only a short fuse; he has not performed like a top tier receiver should. Owners have become skeptical in starting him (I played him in one league and sat him in another) because of his lack of production. The injury to Hasselback doesn't help however the first game of the season he wasn't hurt. Housh didn't score then either. Currently Nate Burleson looks like the go to deep receiver who is steadily getting yards. John Carlson isn't a bad option although he didn't fare well since that opening game. Honestly if there is a better option out there, like Brent Celek(63% owned in Yahoo!) for WR/TE flex leagues or Mike Sims-Walker(41% owned in Yahoo!), then I would dump him. I dumped him for Celek, I'm just thinking its going to be a down year for Housh.


NOTABLE PERFORMANCE OF THE WEEK

So this award goes to a team/player who does really well just not as well as the MVP of the week. In most cases its a surprise that they did so well. Unlike last week, I am pretty sure that everyone started this guy and if you didn't then your team suffered for it. So without further adieu..

Aaron Rodgers 31 points (269 yds passing, 2 TDs; 38 rush yds, TD; 88% Start in Yahoo!)



That other 12% probably started Matt Schaub. What I find most interesting is that there is 1% in Yahoo! leagues that don't even own Rodgers right now. Patience much? I mean the guy could have a potential Pro Bowl/MVP type season and will face the Lions, twice! Playing the Browns later in the year will be nice as well but moving on. Greg Jennings owners may have been upset (even though he got 102 yards) however Donald Driver owners were super pumped about his yardage total along with his TD. Add to the fact that he made a legendary worthy catch in the game. It was about time for Rodgers to do this since during the preseason everyone was drooling over this guy as a late round Brees-like player. So far he hasn't been that but maybe this was a turn for the better. Ryan Grant owners would like some love though Aaron, I'm not sayin' but I'm sayin' (Biggie Smalls anyone, anyone?)

Maurice Jones-Drew needs an honorable mention with 30 points this week (113 rush yds, 3 TDs; 25 rec yds). Finally considering some people thought he would be a number one type back or just had a huge man crush on him like yours truly. Side note, I did request/predict this to happen ASAP last week so this is me giving myself a verbal pat on the back.



MOST VALUABLE PLAYER

Chris Rock might say, "Peyton Manning couldn't have possibly thrown all those touchdowns. Eli did some of that sh!t!" Uh, no Chris he didn't. This guy is all man...ning. Sorry couldn't contain myself.

Peyton Manning 37 points (379 pass yards, 4 TDs, Int)

Unfortunately I played against Peyton this week in two leagues. I luckily pulled off a victory in one while getting completely owned by 30 in another. Clearly the offense is clicking on all cylinders and are looking like the Colts of old. Making a fantasy star out of Donald Brown and Pierre Garcon, the now deemed second best Pierre in fantasy(can you guess the first?), resulting in complete ownage in the Cardinals. It must be nice for Manning, everywhere he looks there is a homerun hitter that makes Albert Pujols jealous. Garcon, Wayne, Clark, Brown and even Addai can make things happen in the open field. So those naysayers that had Aaron Rodgers ahead of Peyton are eating their words now aye?

So there you have it folks. Those of you who I am in the leagues with congrats to the owners who have these players. For the others, thanks for checking out the blog. Think there should be another player on here instead of those listed? Want to make fun of me for my obsession with fantasy football? Go ahead in the comments below. Until we BS again.

Scoring System for Fantasy

SCORING SYSTEM FOR CUSTOM YAHOO! LEAGUES (2009 Edition)

OFFENSE

25 yards of passing/10 yards rushing/ 20 yards receiving - 1 point
Touchdown or TD for short (passing, rushing or receiving) - 6 points
Turning the ball over (interception or lost fumble) - -2 points

KICKERS

After Jim Mora's comments about Olindo Mare they need their own separate area

Field Goals 0-19 Yards - 3 pts
Field Goals 20-29 Yards - 3 pts
Field Goals 30-39 Yards - 3 pts
Field Goals 40-49 Yards - 4 pts
Field Goals 50+ Yards - 5 pts
Point After Attempt Made - 1 pts

DEFENSE

Our one league combines/combined defense and special teams while the other does not (this was only during weeks 1-3).

Sacks - 1 point
Interceptions/recovering a fumble - 2 points
Safety - 2 points
Blocked kick - 2 points
Scoring a TD - 6 points
Points Allowed (PA for short, this has a ladder system for scoring)

• PA 0 points - 10 pts
• PA 1-6 points - 7 pts
• PA 7-13 points - 4 pts
• PA 14-20 points - 1 pt
• PA 21-27 points - 0 pts
• PA 28-34 points - -1 pt
• PA 35+ points - -4 pts

With the special teams included (weeks 1-3)

• 35 return yards - 1 point
• return TD - 6 points

(this was posted for a reference to fantasy awards so I no longer have that long piece in all my blogs about those)

Fantasy Football Awards Week 2

For those of you who follow the blog my love for fantasy football is on display on a regular. Currently I belong to three leagues, two of which I am the commish. Hope the readers enjoyed the first edition, now its time for...THE SEQUEL. As the familiars might now, two awards will not appear in this article to save the identities of those who had their hearts broken in our nailbiter of the week or for those who suffered the biggest beatdown of the week,whoever played against Chris Johnson AND Frank Gore.

Scoring System(if you are familiar with the scoring then skip to the awards...its okay I won't tell)

The league's I run are on Yahoo! and use custom scoring. For offensive players the scoring is as follows 1 point for 25 yards of passing/10 yards rushing/ 20 yards receiving, 6 points per TD(rushing or passing) and -2 for turning the ball over (interception or lost fumble). Kickers also get points however they will never appear on this list unless they kick like 7 field goals. Points vary for them depending on the distance of the field goals they make. The defense on the other hand, as long as they play Jake Delhomme, can appear on here. Our one league combines defense and special teams while the other does not. Sacks (1 point), interceptions/recovering a fumble (2 points), safety (2 points), block kick(2 points), getting a touchdown (6 points) and points allowed (PA for short, this has a ladder system for scoring with 0 points getting 10 points, 1-6 points getting 7 points, 7-13 gets 4 points, 14-20 gets 1 point, 21-27 equals 0 points, 28-34 results in losing 1, 35+ not only means your team defense is awful (which they are) but they made you lose 4 points. With the special teams included we receive a point for 35 return yards and 6 points per TD. Basically if anyone scores a TD you are getting 6 points. So moving on to the awards.

Week 2 Fantasy Football Rewards

No one should be surprised by my choke artist of the week.Since there is no "I" in team, it's hard to blame an entire team for a loss. That is why you have to give it to half of the team that played like garbage. Great against the run, terrible against the pass. Ladies and Gentleman, your...

CHOKE ARTIST OF THE WEEK

Tennessee Defense(100% owned in Fantasy Football/Real Football, 94% started in Yahoo!)

If you were lucky you got credit for their return yards and got 3 points. Most of us didn't and lost at least 1 point (34 PA, 161 return yards)

Clearly this is a popular defense with a lot of people. Probably due to their opponents (Texans) people thought why not. People that are very unhappy after their performance this week. I can feel your pain, at least a little. The league I owned them in I also had Frank Gore. That doesn't excuse the Titans for a sad performance.

NOTABLE PERFORMANCE OF THE WEEK

So this award goes to a team/player who does really well just not as well as the MVP of the week. In most cases its a surprise that they did so well. For example, Tom Brady (or Kerry Collins, 16 points respectively, no seriously it happened) was limited to single digits while starting, this guy put up 30+ points in every league, most likely, on your bench.

Matt Schaub 38 points (357 yds passing, 4 TDs, 33% Start in Yahoo!)

Andre Johnson owners rejoice and laugh at those of us who still own Steve Slaton (what a slump). Schaub owners who played him enjoyed a beast mode game from a late round pick that they got to match up with Johnson. It is thanks to him that Tennessee lost that game. They couldn't stop a passing play. Unlike with the choke artist of the week, I can feel no empathy for anyone. I'm not monster of course I sympathize with you.

Frank Gore with 33 points needs an honorable mention. He did own the Seahawks this week.

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER

O.D.B. would say that this guy, "gets Psycho killerrrrrr Norman Bates!" O.D.B. further explained the MVP would ask, "How you like me now? You wanna get yo' teeth knocked the f.." Gotta stop you there, this is a family show.

Chris Johnson 41 points (197 rush yards, 2 TDs; 87 rec yds, 1 TD)

What is even more impressive is he did this with limited touches. It now has Lendale White owners asking when they can get some love? Johnson is explosive, once out in the open field he broke tackles and burned people down the sideline for his scores. This part of their offense was nonexistent in Pittsburgh for obvious reasons. Many Johnson owners were more then excited to see him go off. My question remains...WHEN WILL MJD DO IT?!? *head explodes*

Sorry I get a little emotional about my own players. Especially ones that I predicted would play well and hasn't done so yet. Do it MJD! Don't make a fool out of me!

So there you have it folks. Those of you who I am in the leagues with congrats to the owners who have these players. For the others, thanks for checking out the blog. Think there should be another player on here instead of those listed? Want to make fun of me for my obsession with fantasy football? Go ahead in the comments below. Until we BS again.

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)