Mock Draft #1 Complete

The fantasy football draft accounts for 60% of the success/failure you will have during the year. So draft wisely! The other 40% comes from trades, lineup strategy, and just dumb luck... I actually won the Superbowl of one of my leagues last year by a tie break!

To prep for a draft I like to read and partake in mock drafts. Last night was my first and here are the results. I was Team B. Feel free to leave comments. I'll only post the first 10 rounds too. Note the last player drafted!

Round 1

# Team Player
1 A LaDainian Tomlinson
2 B Steven Jackson
3 C Larry Johnson
4 D Frank Gore
5 E Shaun Alexander
6 F Joseph Addai
7 G Brian Westbrook
8 H Rudi Johnson
9 I Reggie Bush
10 J Laurence Maroney
11 K Willis McK
12 L Peyton Manning

Round 2
# Team Player
1 L Willie Parker
2 K Steve Smith
3 J Travis Henry
4 I Tom Brady
5 H Maurice Jones-Drew
6 G Carson Palmer
7 F Edgerrin James
8 E Chad Johnson
9 D Clinton Portis
10 C Cedric Benson
11 B Drew Brees
12 A Larry Fitzgerald

Round 3
# Team Player
1 A Marvin Harrison
2 B Thomas Jones
3 C Torry Holt
4 D Terrell Owens
5 E Anquan Boldin
6 F Roy Williams
7 G Ronnie Brown
8 H Reggie Wayne
9 I Adrian Peterson
10 J Randy Moss
11 K Carnell Williams
12 L Antonio Gates

Round 4
# Team Player
1 L Marques Colston
2 K Andre Johnson
3 J T.J. Houshmandzadeh
4 I CHI Defense
5 H Donovan McNabb
6 G Donald Driver
7 F Jamal Lewis
8 E DeAngelo Williams
9 D Brandon Jacobs
10 C Hines Ward
11 B Marshawn Lynch
12 A Deuce McAllister

Round 5
# Team Player
1 A Calvin Johnson
2 B Lee Evans
3 C Jeremy Shockey
4 D Plaxico Burress
5 E Fred Taylor
6 F Marc Bulger
7 G Javon Walker
8 H Todd Heap
9 I Tony Gonzalez
10 J Deion Branch
11 K Vernon Davis
12 L Jerious Norwood

Round 6
# Team Player
1 L Chester Taylor
2 K Matt Hasselbeck
3 J Tony Romo
4 I Santana Moss
5 H Marion Barber
6 G BAL Defense
7 F Reggie Brown
8 E Matt Leinart
9 D Chris Cooley
10 C Jon Kitna
11 B Alge Crumpler
12 A Vince Young

Round 7
# Team Player
1 A Kellen Winslow
2 B Darrell Jackson
3 C Nate Kaeding
4 D Philip Rivers
5 E Bernard Berrian
6 F Laveranues Coles
7 G Braylon Edwards
8 H Joey Galloway
9 I Donte Stallworth
10 J Brandon Jackson
11 K Adam Vinatieri
12 L LaMont Jordan

Round 8
# Team Player
1 L Chris Chambers
2 K SD Defense
3 J Jason Witten
4 I L.J. Smith
5 H Ahman Green
6 G Benjamin Watson
7 F Eli Manning
8 E Ladell Betts
9 D Kevin Curtis
10 C NE Defense
11 B CAR Defense
12 A Jeff Wilkins

Round 9
# Team Player
1 A JAC Defense
2 B Jay Cutler
3 C Julius Jones
4 D Warrick Dunn
5 E Matt Schaub
6 F Randy McMichael
7 G Tatum Bell
8 H Derrick Mason
9 I Ben Roethlisberger
10 J IND Defense
11 K Kevin Jones
12 L Devery Henderson

Round 10
# Team Player
1 L Jerricho Cotchery
2 K D.J. Hackett
3 J David Akers
4 I Jason Elam
5 H Vincent Jackson
6 G LenDale White
7 F Matt Jones
8 E Terry Glenn
9 D DAL Defense
10 C Chris Henry
11 B Michael Turner
12 A Michael Vick

Fantasy Football is Just Around the Corner

Are you ready for some (fantasy) football!!!???

I am. Actually I haven't been studying near as much as I should have. It seems like every year around this time, I start googling up free sites that offer player rankings and mock drafts. From there, if I feel up for it, I start diving into depth charts, bye weeks, and even strength of schedule.

By the time it is all said and done, I have a trsuty notebook that I take to my drafts, of which there are three this year.

I'm not gonna sugar coat this... I'm pretty good. Last year, I won a 12-team league and finished third in a 10-team league.

This year, I will be playing in three leagues. Two draft online and one drafts at a player's home with a board. In two of my leagues, I offer post-draft analyses of how each team did. That is just how into it I get.

That being said, here is my projected top fourteen picks in my CBSportsline league...

1) Ladanian Tomlinson - runs and catches.
2) Steven Jackson - runs and catches.
3) Larry Johnson - he just signed today; however, he will take a beating this year because the Chiefs are thin at QB. This is the most difficult to pick to have in the draft.
4) Frank Gore - beast
5) Brian Westbrook - not flying under anyone's radar this year
6) Joseph Addai - tough pick because he is young; but with no split time this year, he will be the chief recipient of ground TDs.
7) Shaun Alexander - #2 or #3 pick in year's past; injury trips him to #7 where he could pay huge dividends should he stay healthy.
8) Willie Parker - Slick Silly Willy is always set for a huge game.
9) Willis McGahee - he has a lot to prove after being a fantasy bust last year. The Ravens have a beefy O-line to help Willis out though.
10) Laurence Maroney - no Corey Dillon
11) Reggie Bush - still splitting carries with Deuce; but he will see an increase in touches this year. Still a bit too much of a gamble for me this early on though.
12) Rudi Johnson - Rudi is good for 80 and a TD a game it seems like.
13) Maurice Jones-Drew - if Fragile Fred goes down, Drew could be the steal of the draft... again! He's also good for a couple of KO return TDs too.
14) Travis Henry - can he benefit from "the system?"

Good luck to everyone this year. I may post some of the results of my drafts on the blog for comment.

Video of Jose Offerman Swinging His Bat at a Pitcher

Well slides... http://extras.connpost.com/offerman/

But it is the best replay of the incident around.

Selig Does the Predictable

Accoring to published reports, Yankees slugger Jason Giambi will not be punished for doing "that stuff." ESPN.com reports that:

The New York Yankees slugger has cooperated in former Sen. George Mitchell's investigation into steroid use in baseball and met with Mitchell and his team last month to answer questions about his experiences using banned substances. He agreed to speak with Mitchell after Selig threatened to discipline him if he refused to cooperate.

"Jason was frank and candid with Senator Mitchell," Selig said in a statement. "That and his impressive charitable endeavors convinced me it was unnecessary to take further action."

This is very interesting news to me for a number of reasons.

First, I have maintained that MLB/Selig will never do anything to past users because it is a huge can of worms that they do not want to open up. I would venture to say that over half of MLBers have used steroids at some point in the past, including big name stars.

Second, this is yet another example that money buys forgiveness. If Selig is sincere in his remarks, it is quite clear that he believes charitable donations are enough to clear one's name of steroid use... that's right, no asteriks for Jason because he donated $50K to the RBI Club!

Finally, and most importantly, this is a tell tale sign that an asteriks will never appear behind Barry Bonds' names in the records books.

So because of this decision, does it matter if baseball players tell the truth or lie about steroids? Either way, they did them. And either way, the record books will not be noting that they cheated on the game.

More from the blogosphere:

The LoHud Yankees Blog
American Legends
The Biz of Baseball
Ballbug
Rumors and Rants
National Lampoon Splog!
Lattice of Coincidence

Montoya Versus Harvick

A couple of thoughts:

Kevin Harvick is a loser and one day he is going to shove the wrong guy and get his skinny rear end popped.

I'm giving Montoya the win in this slugfest. One of those pushes landed flush to Harvick's helmet sending the Bean Pole backwards.

Take off the helmets! Maybe they do that in the Busch series ala minor leaguers shedding the lids more so than the NHLers. Either way, lids do damage to knuckles; so be gentlemanly and shed them next time.

Mike Ricci Retires

Mike Ricci announced his retirement today from the NHL. The last of the great mugs is gone. A few pics will speak volumes:




And some YouTube for a class veteran. Congrats Mike and best wishes for your retirement.

Barry Bonds... Who Cares?

A couple of notes about the new "Homerun King."

Seriously folks... don't get your panties in a bunch. Alex Rodriguez will surpass Barry Bonds in another eight years or so and Barry will be a name of the past.

I like what Costas said, Barry is the homerun king of his generation. Hank was the kind of his. And the Babe was the king of his.

Did anyone see the ESPN poll about who the best homerun hitter of all-time is? Pretty close race for first and second. But the order is actually reversed from the numbers. Babe takes first. Hank in second. And Big Head comes up in third. I think the fans got this one right. The Babe did it in fewer at bats I believe. He most certainly didn't have the advantages hitters have today, specifically smaller ball parks.

I love the post-game question asked of Bonds about Greg Anderson... of course Bonds didn't have a message for Greg. But if he did really say what was on his mind, I'm sure it would be something like, "Don't worry Greg. I'm good for the payoff. You'll be taken care of when you get out of jail."

30 seconds of beating and a Mets' fan comes away with the ball. Truly, this has been the most interesting part of the whole homerun chase. When the Yanks came to town last weekend, I was definitely positioned in left field should ARod decide to pop the 500 cherry. I certainly wouldn't dive on top of people as one idiot did in San Fran. But I definitely would have made a respectful attempt to catch that ball. Let's face it folks... you're in for a pay day if you catch that ball. And no amount of memorabilia should ever stop a fan from not getting paid. These athletes make millions of dollars. You might as well make $50,000 or, who knows, $500,000!

By the way, Todd McFarlane awaits with an open check book for Barry's last career homerun. Expect millions to paid.

So will there ever be an asterick next to Barry Bonds' name? No chance. Bud Selig hasn't blown Barry out of the water because he is afraid too. Why would Bud be afraid? Because I guarantee you that there were more players on juice at some point then not. It just so happens that the juice made a great player, in Barry Bonds, into a freak of nature whereas it typically only makes an sub-par player into an average player.

But Bud doesn't want to open that can of worms. It would spell disaster for MLB. Do you honestly think that Bud Selig was not aware of the steroids problem in baseball? No chance! Bud was aware... and he let it go on as television ratings skyrocketed as balls were rocketed toward the bleachers in record numbers a few years ago.


Funny videos

How about this one? A record number of fans just turned out to see a guy that some might consider to be the most genuine player in baseball be inducted into the Hall of Fame last week. Did you know that Cal Ripken used to work out with Brady Anderson, a ball player that some instantly point to as a probable juicer? And you're going to tell me that Cal knew nothing about steroids when he played?

Again, this is way bigger than most think. So don't count on Barry being knocked off the record books at any point. If you want that to happen, become an ARod fan and start saying prayers for his health.

What Ever Happened to Gregg Alexander?

Remember this tune?



Of course you do. "You Get What You Give" was written by the New Radicals' fontman Gregg Alexander.

Alexander and the New Radicals produced a whopping one album. And if you haven't checked it out, you don't know what you're missing. Youtube is your source from some of the other hits on the CD:







So what ever happened to Gregg Alexander? According to Wikipedia:

Since disbanding the group in summer 1999, Alexander has written and produced songs for artists including Ronan Keating, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Enrique Iglesias, Hanson, Geri Halliwell, Melanie C, and fellow ex-New Radical Danielle Brisebois. Most noteworthy was the song "The Game Of Love" by Santana and Michelle Branch, which earned a Grammy in 2003.

All Music Guide's Stephen Thomas Erlewine described him as "the catchiest, smartest professional mainstream pop songwriter of the early 2000s."

Now here is the mystery that is Gregg Alexander:

In 1998, they released Maybe You've Been Brainwashed Too. It went on to become a minor success in the late nineties mainly due to the smash hit single, "You Get What You Give".

It was not long before Alexander became tired of the constant media attention and exhaustive touring schedule. In July of 1999, "Someday We'll Know" was announced as the band's second single. However, several days later Alexander announced he was disbanding the New Radicals to focus on production work.

He said that "the fatigue of traveling and getting three hours sleep in a different hotel every night to do boring 'hanging and schmoozing' with radio and retail people is definitely not for me". After a big fight with MCA Alexander finally agreed to shoot a video for "Someday We'll Know" but with the band now defunct, the song got little attention and the New Radicals were forever confined to the one-hit wonder hall of fame.

[After the New Radicals], Gregg Alexander wrote and produced "The Game Of Love" by Santana and Michelle Branch as well as four songs on Enrique Iglesias' album 7 under the pseudonym Alex Ander.

He is also believed to be, along with Rick Nowels, The Party People, who produced Justin Guarini's song "Inner Child", which is a rewritten version of "Inner Smile", the song Alexander and Nowels co-wrote for Texas.

It is often said but unconfirmed that his real name is Greg Aiuto, and thus Gregg Alexander itself is an alias.

Any way you slice it, Alexander was, and apparently still is, a unique individual with a talent for writing songs. And although I am sure he is happy living in obscurity writing songs for stars that crave the spotlight, I can't help but think what could have been if Alexander stuck with New Radicals and continued to pump his own music.

Kevin Hatcher was pretty good with the fisticuffs

Sorry Stars fans... only Kevin Hatcher in the red, white, and blue in these clips. Hatcher was actually my brother's favorite fighter growing up. He used to always bring up that Hatcher took boxing lessons when younger. Well, that is confirmed in this first clip...

Dave Fay Eulogy

Jason LaCanfora delivered long-time Washington Times Caps' writer Dave Fay's eulogy on Saturday. Fay gave way to a long-time battle with cancer last week. Fay, as LaCanfora put it, was an institution in the Caps' community, covering the teawm since 1982.

Even if you didn't get to read Fay's coverage of the Caps, LaConfora's eulogy is still a good read.

And as the Caps' blogging community has grown over the years, the decrease in print media took a huge hit with the loss of Fay.

One piece from the eulogy that I enjoyed very much:

I'll never forget a game in Toronto about six years ago when Sergei Gonchar, one of Dave's favorites of this era, was getting pummeled by borderline hits. The Maple Leafs eventually knocked Gonchar out of the game - a dirty shot from Darcy Tucker finishing him off - and the game ended late, right on deadline.

Dave and I sat in the back of the media workroom afterwards, where Leafs Coach Pat Quinn conducts his post-game press conferences. We were scrambling to file our stories, every second vital to us, while half listening to Quinn, who, for those who might not know, was an imposing figure with an uncanny gift for browbeating and intimidating the media.

So Quinn was rambling on and making excuses for his team, trying to defend Tucker's ugly antics, when suddenly I heard the chair next to me go skidding back towards the wall.

The coach was still yapping away, but now Dave was on his feet in the back of the room, yelling above him.

"Quinn, I haven't seen a worse hit than that since you cheap shotted [Bobby] Orr in 1969," Dave bellowed out, leaving Quinn speechless and the assembled Toronto media horde stunned.

Dave laid into Quinn for a few more minutes, standing up for Gonchar and for what he believed in - this was by all accounts Fay's press conference now - then filed his story, packed his bags and left like it was just another game. Quinn, flabbergasted, absorbed the lecture and barely looked up. I nearly blew deadline taking it all in, but man, was it worth it.

The scene was hilarious, sincere, ballsy and a little bit surreal all at the same time. That was Dave.

Gary Bettman is at it again...

Enough is enough... I really do think that Gary Bettman hates Canada. Jim Balsillie wants to buy the Nashville Predators for an astronomic $238 million and what does Gary Bettman do?

According to Rodier, when Bettman found out they were on the verge of signing a letter of intent, he angrily called [current Nashville owner Craig] Leipold and told him to back off.

Your guess is as good as mine as to why. More from ESPN...

The battle for ownership of the Nashville Predators might be the single-most important moment for the league in decades, even eclipsing in importance the lockout that scuttled the 2004-05 season.

On one side is Bettman, whose vision of the NHL continues to be one that includes teams scattered across America, even if many of those American markets are floundering. The failure of the Predators reflects badly on Bettman's vision. Their failure is his failure.

Not only that, but...

Many players have told ESPN.com they believe a new team in Hamilton would generate significantly more revenue than a team in Kansas City. Governors and GMs have told ESPN.com in the past year they believe a second team in Southern Ontario would be a surefire success. Phoenix Coyotes coach Wayne Gretzky, still one of hockey's most influential figures, recently said he thought a team in Hamilton would be a success.

So...

the accusations raise questions about whether the commissioner overstepped his bounds. The issue could lead to a showdown with the NHL's board of governors over whether Bettman acted appropriately and with the best interests of the league. The board is scheduled to meet next in September, likely in Chicago.

Please Ted Leonsis, I'm begging you. Get rid of this dope once and for all.

I, and so many other Americans, full well know that hockey is Canada's game.

And with millions of Canadians screaming for another team, Gary continues to stand red-faced in the corner with his fingers firmly planted in his ears.

Update - Some discussion about Mr. Bettman over at Kuklas.

I just watched Gus Hanson lose $300K in two hours

Okay... so I play a little bit of online poker at Full Tilt. This morning I logged on and saw Gus Hanson sitting at a heads up $200/$400 NL table with pr1nnyraid. The minimum buy in is $800, but word is Gus started with close to $100K.

I sat and watched for a while and watched as Gus' stack dwindled. There were some absolutely sick hands. And as Gus said as he left the table, he was favored in most of them when the chips went all in.

The biggest was an A10 -vs- AK (for Gus) pre-flop all in where pr1nny nailed trips and sucked out. He later sucked out again with AQ -vs- Gus' KK and hit his Ace for a $70K win.

Another was Gus' 99 -vs- pr1nny's 33 with pr1nny hitting his 3 for trips. I believe there was a similar hand like this as well.

I also saw Gus push all in for less than 20K with 22 and pr1nny calling with an A/face card and nailing Gus again.

And while Gus ran into a lot of bad beats, he wouldn't leave the table and kepy buying back in for 15K and 20K at a time, only to push all in and lose over and over again.

By the time it was said and done and Gus left, pr1nny was sitting with over 310K.

And pr1nny's response when Gus said he was favored in most all ins?

"What can I say? The system must be rigged." A little salt on the wound.

The Value of Sports Blogging

With Michael Vick and Barry Bonds, two class acts, dominating the sports world these days, I've found myself venturing into some articles on sports blogging and press credentials.

Here are a couple articles worthy of a read:

Blogs offer instant, irreverent analysis of the sports world:

"I'm just some guy in West Virginia with a computer, but we've got the premier NFL blog out there," said Florio, whose ProFootballTalk.com drew more than 600,000 individual viewers in March. "I never did like the word blog, but I've accepted that that's what our Web site is."

Florio's nearly 6-year-old site attracts more than fans - it's a must-read for many NFL players, management types, agents and media members.

"Every day, several times a day, I check on ProFootballTalk," said Miami Beach-based agent Drew Rosenhaus, who counts Dolphins Zach Thomas and Jason Taylor among his impressive and expansive client list. "It's very entertaining. He tries hard to break news and he's got good sources. He's very credible. I've been reading his stuff for years now."

Looking into the Blog Box:

We’re setting up a BLOG BOX in the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum – sort of like a press box, but away from the scribes and broadcasters because we know you want to cheer, shout, have a pretzel and enjoy the game experience on your own terms.

We will provide you with a media pass for a few games next season and a seat in the NYI BLOG BOX. You will also receive your own set of Game Notes when you enter the Coliseum Press Gate. All you have to do is bring your note pad and/or voice recorder and cheer as loudly as you want. After the game you attend, we will set up an area where you can toss a few questions at a coach or players, based on your requests and their availability.

Some great stuff out of David Singer at Ice Block. I also want to point out the Ted Leonsis' take on bloggers as well:

Of course press rooms and player access should be made available to bloggers! Bloggers are passionate fans. They are very knowledgeable and have a growing audience. They bottle up interactivity and they know how to utilize the new medium. Bloggers are showing up higher and higher in search engines and on search results pages. They point back and forth to one another. They dive deep into subjects and are very capable of building next generation businesses. They are a medium and they are helping to build a new one that is fast growing instead of shrinking. They are journalists who are self policed. If they do bad work, they won't be pointed to by other bloggers and they will fall out of the search engine results pages. The NHL needs all of the coverage and audience we can generate. Our audience is the most wired of all the pro sports. We need to be looking at the creation of next generation networks and deliver content to fans in a manner they are comfortable with and in a voice that relates to the new consumer.

And once again, Eric McErlain leads the charge for press credentials. I am really on the fence about this one. I think Eric needs to rethink exactly who he is representing in this cause. Bloggers like himself and On Frozen Blog, who take blogging to another level with regular and original coverage, player interviews, and inside sources? Or the regular bloggers, still serious, but those that have content that teeters between the sports and entertainment world.

I believe both add value to the sports world. And as long as a blog adds material on a regular basis and does so in a professional manner, they should be considered for in-game blogging in some fashion. That is why I think that the Islanders idea is a great one. I also think that they innacurately characterized the atmosphere that the bloggers would be a part of. On the contrary, I think that a blog box would be quite professional. As Ted said, bloggers self-police. So "hooting and hollering" with "hotdogs in hand" probably wouldn't be seen in a blog box... at least not in Washington, where Capitals blogging is taken seriously.

So to Eric. Please rethink the all or nothing game plan. Because I believe that would exclude a lot of great blogs out there that would be very happy with covering a game from a blog box.

Remember that it is the press that is worried about bloggers... not the other way around.

Aebischer To Phoenix?

Could be according to Paul Kukla...

I am hearing a little rumbling today that David Aebischer will be a signing a 1yr deal with the Phoenix Coyotes. More information as it becomes available. I should do these rumor things all the time, drawing millions of hits!!! lol

While this news wouldn't usually make my blog, I wanted to see if the rumor hits thing was true. So click away!

I'll also add that it wouldn't be so bad to see Aebischer in a Caps' uniform at some point, although from what I read, there will be some goaltender talent testing the market next year.

Update - Done Deal.

For anyone who hasn't yet seen it...

Today on Wikipedia, their "featured article" is regarding fighting in hockey.

Check it out!

If it's not up (if you're checking it out after July 19), here is a direct link to the article: