Friday Tidbits - 12/15/06

How can I start anywhere but San Diego. LT is fresh off dropping 3 TDs on Denver to break the NFL touchdown record. After 13 weeks he has 29 TDs, not to mention the two he's thrown. He's a machine. He has nine multiple TD games (three with 2, three with 3 and three with 4 TDs). He's been kept out of the endzone only twice in 12 games this year. He's easily the best offensive player in the league. The best special teams player has to be Devin Hester of the Bears. He took two kickoffs for TDs on MNF to help the Bears knock off the Rams on the road. He has 3 punt return TDs, 2 kickoff return TDs, and 1 on a miss Field Goal that he caught and returned the distance. The Colts have been bad against the run this year, but Sunday was ridiculous. Fred Taylor and Maurice Jones-Drew ripped them for over 130 yards each. Even the 3rd stringer got into the action. Turn 180 degees and you see the Vikings held the Lions to -3 rushing yards. Their RB Kevin Jones left the game with a foot injury, and he could miss a lot more if it's as serious as feared. Finally, the flavor of the month for QBs has been Eli, Grossman, and Romo. Somehow Drew Brees has slipped by most of the media. However, his eye popping 5 TD game on SNF changed things. In fact, John Madden accidently stumbled on that fact. He was talking about Romo...wow, imagine that. Anyway, he said that Romo was the flavor of the month, and before that it was Grossman. You could actually hear his brain churning as he came up with the phrase, "maybe we should be talking about Drew Brees". Kansas City Chiefs owner, Lamar Hunt, passed away Wednesday night. He coined the term Super Bowl. He succumbed to cancer at the age of 74. When you open The Stupid Book and turn to page 43, you'll see a picture of Chicago Bears defensive tackle Tank Johnson. He is already on probation after pleading guilty to a gun charge, and he was charged with possessing six illegal firearms on Thursday. Now flip to page 83 and you'll see Joey Porter. He was fined $10K after using a derogatory term for gay men to describe Kellen Winslow, which is ironic because in the NFL opener it was Porter who was trying to nuzzle on Bill Cohers neck.


Eric Gagne has found a new home in Texas. He joins Kenny Lofton as recent Ranger signees. Jose Mesa signed on with the Tigers, who also extended Brandon Inge four more years. Jason Jennings will have a new home next year. He'll no longer have to deal with the altitude at Coors Field. Instead, he'll be pitching in the Lone Star State for the Astros. He'll be asked to replace Andy Pettitte, who bolted to the Yankees. Looks like Miguel Batista became the latest to cash in despite mediocre statistics. He signed a three year, $24 deal with Seattle despite the fact that he'll be 36 when the season kicks off. He had his first 200 inning season last year, and won a career high 11 games. The Blue Jays have offered Vernon Wells a 7 year, $126 million dollar deal. I thought the Twins were crazy for extending Torii Hunter one year for $12 million, but in this climate, that's a steal. Detroit pitcher Joel Zumaya doesn't have tennis elbow. No, he has right wrist and forearm inflammation from Guitar Hero. He's been ordered to stop playing it. That reminds me of when I was like 15 and I stayed up all night playing Tecmo Football. Those were the days. Jeff Bagwell will finally retire. He has been milking his big contract with the Astros for the last few seasons. Oh yeah, some Daisuke Matsuzaka guy signed a deal worth $100 million. Yes, it's a lot of money, but half of it doesn't count on the books. Gil Meche will actually be worth more of the cap than Matsuzaka is. The Red Sox will also generate revenue from Matsuzaka in Japan. It was nice to see Scott Boras being held by the short hairs for once. He wanted twice as much as Matsuzaka signed for, but realized he had no leverage. It wasn't an open market. It was reach a deal with the Red Sox or wait another year.


Allen Iverson has been the biggest story in the NBA. He demanded a trade, and the Sixers quickly agreed. They have been shopping him heavily, have cleaned out his locker, and have not allowed him to play. It's just a matter of where he'll land. David Stern is finally admitting his new basketball idea was foolish. The league will go back to the new balls on January 1st. I think New Coke lasted longer than Stern's Folly. Speaking of follies, James Dolan has said Isiah Thomas has this year only to show progress. Really. You mean totally destroying a team, taking on huge contracts, assembling an entire team of guards, and paying a coach $40 million to quit only buys you a year. Isiah should have a lawsuit on his hand if he's dismissed. Lamar Odom (knee) and Tracy McGrady (back) could be on the shelf for a while. Carmelo Anthony is donating $1.5 million to a Baltimore youth center. It's refreshing when a player is in the news for the right reasons. Utah (17-5), San Antonio (18-6), and Phoenix (15-6) are your top three teams thus far. Phoenix is riding a 12 game winning streak. On the flip side Memphis (5-17) and Philadelphia (5-16) are the worst teams. Philly is riding a 9 game losing streak.


Montreal Canadiens General Manager Bob Gainey lost his daughter to a tragic accident. She was working on a sailing ship when a wave took her overboard during a storm last week. She was only 25. Five years ago, he lost his wife to brain cancer. Former Minnesota Gopher hockey great and Boston Bruins rookie Phil Kessel underwent cancer related surgery. Let's hope the 19 year old has a speedy recovery. Sidney Crosby had that breakout game on Wednesday night. He had a goal and five assists. He leads all players in All-Star voting. Joe Thornton leads the Western Conference. Jeremy Roenick and Wayne Gretzky aren't seeing eye-to-eye. Roenick thinks he can still play at a high level. Gretzky doesn't think the six points Roenick has accumulated in 28 games is impressive and replaced him in the lineup. Anaheim (56 points) and Buffalo (50) are the first teams to cross the 50 point barrier. Sidney Crosby is the new scoring leader with 47 points. He has a league leading 32 assists. Marian Hassa and Brendan Shannahan lead the way with 22 goals. Dominik Hasek (1.90) and Evgeni Nabokov (1.97) lead the league in GAA. Evgeni Malkin (15 goals, 15 assists) leads all rookies in scoring.


--- Morris Almond ---------------- Trey Johnson ---
UCLA and Texas A & M played an instant classic last Saturday. #1 UCLA slipped past #6 Texas A & M 65-62. #18 Gonzaga had little difficulty defeating #8 Washington. #12 Wisconsin got past #20 Marquette. Indiana State upset #14 Butler. UNLV ran past #19 Nevada. Greg Oden put on a clinic against Cleveland State going 8 for 8 from the floor for 16 points. He also grabbed 4 rebounds and blocked 3 shots in 22 minutes. He shot his free throws with is left hand again, missing all three of his attempts. Sunday was a tough day for ranked teams as #11 LSU fell to Texas and #22 Maryland dropped on to Boston College. Big games this weekend include #2 Pittsburgh taking on #7 Wisconsin, #18 Butler taking on 8-1 Purdue, #4 Ohio State facing 6-2 Cincinnati, #16 Gonzaga taking on 6-1 Georgia, and #9 Alabama looks to hand Southern Miss their first defeat. Morris Almond of Rice and Trey Johnson of Jackson State lead the nation in scoring at 30.1 pts/gm. Nevada's Nick Fazekas leads with 13.1 rb/gm while Marist's Jared Jordan leads with 8.5 assists/gm.


Miami and Florida International are going to square off again next year. Hopefully, they will not brawl again. Montana State cornerback Andre Fuller was suspended after being charged with selling cocaine. I'm sure his parents are proud. The AP All-Americans were named. Heading the list is Heisman winner Troy Smith, Heisman runner-up Darren McFadden, and two time winners Paul Posluszny and Dwayne Jarrett. Speaking of the Heisman, Troy Smith had to have his shipped home because they would not allow it on the plane. The last time a Buckeye won, Eddie George's trophy was damaged in the X-Ray machine. Maurice Clarrett is changing teams. No he's not leaving the Broncos for the Giants to replace Tiki Barber. He got traded to the Toledo Correctional Institution.

That concludes the Tidbits. As always, feel free to add any stories you liked this week in sports or discuss any of the stories I mentioned. Thanks again for supporting my blog.

Friday Tidibits - 12/8/06

You've waited patiently all week for the Tidbits. Wait no longer.

The Jay Cutler Experience didn't go as well as Shanahan would have liked. I don't know about you, but I was glad it blew up in his face. Why you make a change at Quarterback while you're in the playoff hunt is beyond me. Heck, even Chicago is sticking with Rex Grossman despite his horrific play of late. Clinton Portis went under the knife this week to repair his broken wing. He should be good to go next season. Brett Favre may also have to have surgery this offseason on his ankle. I'm sure we'll hear plenty about that this summer. Vince Young has taken the NFL by storm. Many questioned his mechanics and intelligence heading into the draft. He has showed everyone that he has the poise and the "it" factor to succeed in this league. Hats of to VY. Jake Delhomme has ligament damage in his thumb. He injured it early in the MNF game. He played pretty well despite the injury. If you read my Fantasy Football Forum entry on Tuesday you know I wish he would have left the game when he got hurt. I have to commend his toughness, but I would be breathing easier this week if he just gave into the pain on Monday. Vikings coach Brad Childress is being coy about naming a starting quarterback against the Lions. Hey, Brad. Your team sucks. Detroit's even worse. Nobody cares if you bring Fran Tarkenton in to lead your team. Willie Parker had his way with the Cleveland run defense to the tune of a Steelers' record 223 yards on Thursday night. It's the second time he's eclipsed the 200 yard barrier this season. Pretty impressive work.

The shopping spree has continued in MLB. The Red Sox ponied up $70 million to J.D. Drew for five years (ahem...overpaid) and $36 million for Julio Lugo. Jason Schmidt is moving down the coast from SF to LA for $47 million over three years. Greg Maddux is getting $10 million to pitch for San Diego next year. The A's landed Mike Piazza. It makes sense for Piazza to play in the AL. He can DH and handle the occasional catcher duty. They A's are hoping he can replace Frank Thomas, who departed to Toronto earlier. Thomas received a one year $8.5 million deal. Andy Pettitte will be back next year, but he hasn't decided where he's going to pitch. I'm guesing a return to the Yankees. Moths flew out KC's wallet as the Royals signed Gil Meche to a five year $55 million deal. The White Sox traded Freddy Garcia to the Phillies for Gavin Floyd and Gio Gonzalez. Barry B*nds is coming back to steal the record from Hank Aaron. The Giants feel it's worth $16 million to have a side show all season. Mark my words. The Giants have just been eliminated from playoff contention with this signing. I was hoping if he would be blackballed, but I'll have to ask Santa for something else. The Cardinals supposedly expressed interest in baseball's most notorious steroid abuser before the signing, but I'm guessing it was a ploy by his agent. My guess is their thoughts were LaRussa has had McGwir* and Cansec*, so what's one more cheat? In positive news, my brother (not really) Jon Lester is cancer-free.

In hoops, the tyrant David Stern shocked the heck out of me. His quote "But if our players are unhappy with it, we have to analyze to the nth degree the cause of their unhappiness. Everything is on the table. I'm not pleased, but I'm realistic. We've got to do the right thing here. And, of course, the right thing is to listen to our players. Whether it's a day late or not, we're dealing with this." surprised me, but this one "In hindsight, we could have done a better job. I take responsibility for that." nearly floored me. Is our little tyrant turning over a new leaf? I doubt it, but it is refreshing for him to take a step down from his self-appointed pedestal for a change. Steve Nash didn't seem to mind the new ball when he dished out 20 assists Tuesday night. When he is rolling, he gets everyone involved making the Suns hard to beat. Stephen Jackson is going to have to stand trial for his roll in the OK Corral shootout at a strip club. He's facing a felony charge of criminal recklessness and misdemeanor counts of battery and disorderly conduct. Kings forward Maurice Taylor did his Bob Marley impression. The league didn't look to kindly upon it. They suspended the pot smoker for five games for his third marijuana violation. U.S. House of Representatives honored the late Red Auerbach by passing The Auerbach Resolution. Want to feel old? Larry Bird turned 50 this week. Want a reminder of what the league used to be like? The Suns dropped the Nets 161-157 in double overtime. Steve Nash fired in 42 points. Jason Kidd made his fantasy owners proud with his 78th career triple-double. His 38 points, 14 rebounds, and 14 assists were pretty darn impressive. Ray Allen will be on the shelf for a while with a bone bruise in his ankle. The top three records in the league are Utah (15-4), San Antonio (14-5), and Orlando (14-6). New Jersey and Toronto share the lead of the Atlantic division at 7-11. That's a .389 winning percentage. Dreadful. Carmelo Anthony is back in the lead with 32.2 pts/gm, while Howard (13.5 rb/gm) and Nash (10.8 a/g) maintain their rebounding and assist leads.

In hockey, Scott Niedermayer leads the league in All-Star voting. Joe Nieuwendyk ended his 20 year career this week because of back pain. He leaves with 1126 (564 goals and 562 assists) career points. Buffalo's Daniel Briere netted his first career hat trick this week. The Edmonton Oilers are going to retire Mark Messier's number next year. It will be fitting because they will be playing Gretzky's Coyotes when they hang his #11 in the rafters. In other number retiring news, the Blues retired Brett Hull's #16 this week. Martin Brodeur tied Eddie Balfour with his 461st victory between the pipes. Only Patrick Roy's 551 wins are greater. A quick look at the standing shows Anaheim (48 points), Buffalo (44), Atlanta (40), and San Jose (40) as the top teams. Marian Hassa and Jaromir Jagr are tied with 41 points apiece. Hossa and Brendan Shanahan have the most goals with 21 each. Jagr's 28 assists are a league high. Dominik Hasek is the only sub-2.00 GAA goalie at 1.88. "Being" Evgeni Malkin leads all rookies with 25 points.

In college football, USC dropped the ball and blew their National Championship hopes. Florida leapfrogged Michigan to take a run at Ohio State. Michigan loses out on the BCS game, but will face USC in the Rose Bowl. The Fiesta Bowl matches up Oklahoma and unbeaten Boise State. Louisville and Wake Forest meet in the Orange Bowl. Finally, the Sugar Bowl pits Notre Dame (ahem overrated) against LSU. Bernie Kosar is throwing his hat in the ring for the Miami head coaching position. Maybe he should get some coaching experience before he takes on one of the nation's most prestigous programs. The Cleveland Browns want to name him their president. Again, a little experience would probably help. Too bad for Bernie, Randy Shannon is taking the gig. We will soon know who the 2006 Heisman winner is. The choices are Ohio State's Troy Smith, Notre Dame's Brady Quinn, and Arkansas Running Back Darren McFadden. Brady Quinn took home the Maxwell Award (Outstanding Player). Troy Smith took home the Walter Camp Award (Player of the Year). Darren McFadden took home the Doak Walker Award (Best Running Back). They all have an award to be proud of, but I'd be shocked if Troy Smith doesn't bring home college football's biggest award. Other award winners are Patrick Willis - Ole Miss (Dick Butkus Award - Best Linebacker), Joe Thomas - Wisconsin (Outland Trophy - Best Interior Lineman), Paul Posluszny - Penn State (Chuck Bednarik Award - Defensive Player of the Year), Troy Smith (Davey O'Brien Award - Best QB), Calvin Johnson - Ga Tech (Fred Biletnikoff Award - Best WR), Aaron Ross - Texas (Jim Thorpe Award - Best DB), Matt Spaeth - Minnesota (John Mackey Award - Best TE), Art Carmody - Louisville (Lou Groza Award - Besk K), James Laurinaitis - Ohio St (Bronko Nagurski Award - Defensive Player of the Year), Daniel Sepulveda - Baylor (Ray Guy Award - Best Punter), and Dan Mozes - W Virginia (Rimington Trophy - Best Center).

In college hoops, Ohio State center Greg Oden has arrived. He would have been the #1 pick in the NBA draft if there wasn't an age limit. In his first game, he went 3-4 from the field, 8-15 from the charity stripe for 14 points, grabbed 10 rebounds, and blocked 5 shots. He shot his free throws lefty because his right wrist was still bothering him. Here I thought Shaq taught him to shoot free throws when I read the box score. Role Model Bob Knight tied Adolph Rupp for 2nd on the all-time wins list with his 876th victory. He's three short of Dean Smith. Since the last tidbits, Depaul knocked off #5 Kansas, North Dakota State beat #9 Marquette, #10 Duke beat #23 Georgetown, #22 Wichita State beat #14 Syracuse (boo), #21 Gonzaga beat #25 Texas, Florida State beat #4 Florida, Notre Dame beat #19 Maryland, Miami beat #24 Georgia Tech, #11 LSU beat #6 Texas A&M, Washington State beat #18 Gonzaga, #24 Oklahoma State beat #21 Syracuse (boo hoo), Tennessee beat #17 Memphis, and Notre Dame stunned #5 Alabama. Good matchups this weekend are #1 UCLA vs. #6 Texas A&M, #8 Washington vs. #18 Gonzaga in a battle of Washington, and #12 Wisconsin vs. #20 Marquette to see who reigns supreme in the Land of Cheese.

That concludes the Tidbits. As always, feel free to add any stories you liked this week in sports or discuss any of the stories I mentioned. Thanks again for supporting my blog.

Friday Tidbits - 12/1

It's Tidbits time again. Michael Vick will be my press secretary in case anyone disagrees with what I say. Just kidding. The NFL wasn't though when it slapped a $10K fine on Ron Mexico. No word on whether on not his brother Marcus helped with his finger flipping technique. You want a way to get your female companion to tune into more football games? Tell her about the soap opera that's going on in the Giants organization. Michael Strahan, Tiki Barber, and Jeremy Shockey have mouthed off. Plaxico Burress is doing his Randy Moss impersonation by not given a full effort. Eli Manning has the inferior younger brother part nailed. The "stupid kicker" Mike Vanderjagt was given the boot by the Cowboys. I can't say I blame them. He has been anything but consistent. When he almost missed a PAT on Thanksgiving, I knew his time was numbered. The Texans brought Olympian Justin Gatlin in for a tryout. Sure he's fast, but I doubt he has good hands. The NFL already has their speedy WR that can't catch in Troy Williamson. Oh yeah, Gatlin is banned from the Olympics for testing positive for steroids. If they would welcome him into the league, it would speak volumes of the NFL's concern for PEDs. It would be hypocritical too because the NFL think the CFL should allow Ricky Williams to play since he violated their substance abuse policy. Speaking of substance abuse, Shawne Merriman returns from his steroid vacation.

In baseball, the big story is whether or not Mark McGwir* deserves to be in the Hall of Fame. Yes, he hit a ton of home runs (583 to be exact), but he's a career .263 hitter. You know he used steroids. Would he have reached the 500 mark without juicing? I don't know. While I don't think he should be the scapegoat for the whole Steroid Era, I really don't know if I'd punch his ballot. I'm kinda glad I don't have to make that decision. Barry B*nds will actually be easier. I think he was a HOFer before he started juicing. While I dislike B*nds, I would vote for him. The Yankees weren't going to get shut out of Japan entirely this offseason. They won the rights to negotiate with Kei Igawa. His bid was a little over half of what the Red Sox bid for Matsuzaka. Speaking of Matsuzaka, the Red Sox have until December 14th to get a deal done with him. If not he goes back to Japan. We'll find out in two weeks if they meant business or just abused the system. Adam Eaton is the latest to cash in with a big contract. The teams have more money to spend, as evident by the 3 year, $24.5 million deal Eaton signed. He has 54 wins in seven seasons, and has been to the DL 6 times. Going to a hitter's park won't help matters.

The biggest story in the NBA right now is whether or not Ben Wallace can wear a headband. It sort of became part of his trademark with the Pistons. He would come his hair out and sport a headband for big games. The Bulls knew this when they signed him. They should have mentioned it then. Dirk Nowitzki left a game in the first quarter on Wednesday with blurred vision. I have left plenty of bars in that condition in my day, but hopefully Dirk will be OK. New Jersey leads the Atlantic Division with a 6-9 record. How pathetic is that? Utah leads the way with a 13-4 record. There are some streaking teams chasing them down. Orlando (5 straight wins) is now 12-4, Dallas (11 straight) is 11-4, and Detroit (7 straight) is 10-5. The Spurs (11-5), Lakers (10-5), and Houston (10-5) are the other teams with double digit wins thus far. Allen Iverson (31.7) has nudged Carmelo Anthony (31.5) out of the scoring lead. Dwight Howard leads the way with 13.6 rebounds/gm. I expect Howard to lead that category the rest of the way. Once again, Steve Nash leads the way with 10.8 assists/gm. I also expect Nash to lead this category all season.

Phoenix Coyate rookie Enver Lisin got sent down to the minor leagues. He didn't want to hear that. Instead he opted to play in a Russian league. I'm sure that decision will work wonders for his career. The Penguins waived John LeClair. They are looking to trade the once high scoring veteran. James Ulmer, part of the Rick Tocchet gambling ring plead guilty to gambling charges. Things aren't looking good for LeClair. A look at the standings shows Anaheim (44 points) with a healthy 4 point lead over Buffalo (40). San Jose (38.), Atlanta (36), and Nashville (36) make up your top 5. Marian Hossa regained the scoring lead with 39 points. His 20 goals also leads the way. Jaromir Jagr leads the NHL with 25 assists. Minnesota's Niklas Backstrom leads the NHL with a 1.92 GAA, but he's only played in 8 games (started 5). San Jose's Vesa Toskala and Detroit's Dominik Hasek are next with 1.98 GAAs. Anze Kopitar is the rookie scoring leader with 22 points.

USC bombed Notre Dame last week, virtually setting up a date with Ohio State in the title game. Only UCLA stands in their way. Another big defeat last week was #5 Arkansas falling to #9 LSU. Any chance for Arkansas to play Ohio State died on that field. #11 Texas got bumped by Texas A&M, #7 West Virginia lost to South Florida, #16 Georgia Tech lost to Georgia, and #24 Clemson lost to South Carolina. This week #4 Florida faces #8 Arkansas. Florida has an outside chance at OSU if USC can lose. Other big games are #8 Oklahoma vs. #19 Nebraska, #13 Rutgers vs. #15 West Virginia, and #16 Wake Forest vs. #23 Georgia Tech.

In college hoops, Butler knocked off Gonzaga last Friday to win the NIT. There was a good share of upsets with #12 Kansas knocking off #1 Florida in the Las Vegas Invitational, #6 LSU falling to Wichita State, and #7 Wisconsin falling to Missouri State. Florida rebounded from their loss to hold Southern University to 27 points. Georgetown coach John Thompson III defeated his kid brother Ronny Thompson, Ball State coach, on Monday. It was a whinefest though as John Thompson and John Thompson III were complaining about the brothers having to coach against each other. Grow up. It was good exposure for Ball State. Should Peyton and Eli Manning complain if they have to play against each other? I know they are pro athletes, but the Thompson brothers are professional coaches. It's part of the game. Big games this weekend are #10 Duke vs. #23 Georgetown, #14 Syracuse vs. #22 Wichita State, and #21 Gonzaga vs. #25 Texas.

That concludes the Tidbits. As always, feel free to add any stories you liked this week in sports or discuss any of the stories I mentioned. Thanks again for supporting my blog.

Out on a Fantasy Football Limb Volume 12

I'm going back on a limb again for Week 13 in the NFL. I will pick five players that I believe will score more points this week than a higher profile player. The scoring will be 6 points for rushing or receiving TD, 4 points for a passing TD, .1 points per yard for rushing or receiving and .05 points per passing yard. I went 3-2 in my picks last week to improve to 30-25. A deeper look into the numbers shows I'm 8-3 at QB, 11-11 at RB, and 11-11 at the WR/TE slot. I also implemented a Super Stretch pick, which I lost. I'll recap last week.

Last Week
Joey Harrington 22.85 beat Philip Rivers 6.55 as I predicted.
Brian Westbrook 23 destroyed Rudi Johnson 12.4 WHICH I GOT HORRIBY WRONG.
Marion Barber and Steven Jackson 20.6 & 25.2 combined forces to beat LT 27.4 as I predicted.
Lee Evans 5.8 beat Braylon Edwards 2.9 WHICH I GOT WRONG.
Andre Johnson 15.8 beat Chad Johnson 12.9 as I predicted.
Super Stretch
Jamal Lewis 13 beat DeAngelo Williams 8.6 WHICH I GOT WRONG.
Season Record: 30-25, 0-2

This Week's Picks

Aaron Brooks over David Carr
I'll take Brooks (434 yards, 2 TDs ) over Carr (2217, 10) in the Oakland - Houston showdown.


Laurence Maroney over Fred Taylor
I'll go with the rookie (798 total yards, 5 TDs) over the veteran (1092 total, 4 TDs) in these RBBC backs.


Wali Lundy over Willis McGahee
McGahee (777 total, 3 TDs) came back strong last week. This week San Diego will hold him in check. Lundy (577, 3 TDs) should have a strong game against Oakland.


Laveranues Coles over Chad Johnson
Coles (826, 4) is coming off a nice game. He gets to face GB. He should do well. I'll try my luck against Chad (1055, 7) despite his torrid pace. Baltimore should keep him in check.


Devery Henderson over Darrell Jackson
Devery (548, 4) is catching passes from the hottest QB in the business. He has to share touches with a bunch of guys, but his big play ability in remarkable. D-Jax (805, 9) is still working out the kinks with Hasselbeck and will be fed a steady diet of Champ Bailey.

SUPER STRETCH

Benard Berrian over Torry Holt
Berrian (599, 4) had a nice game against the Pats. The Vikes have been giving up yards like crazy through the air. Holt (795, 7) seems as likely to keep up his struggles as he is of breaking out of this slump.

Previous Out on a Limb Picks
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
Week 5
Week 6
Week 7
Week 8
Week 9
Week 10
Week 11
Week 12

What did you think of my predictions? Do you have any fantasy upsets in mind? Please leave your comments.

Black Friday Tidbits - 11/24/06

Well, Thanksgiving is over. Hope you got your fill of turkey and other goodies. Today is known as Black Friday because it's one of the biggest shopping days of the year. In actuality, it's must closer to Christmas as many of us procrastinate until the last minute. Well, in between shopping and turkey leftovers, I hope you have a little room for your weekly helping of tidbits. In honor of the shopping day, I'll do the tidbits QVC style.



First up we have Larry Johnson. He is listed at $99.99. Such a bargain for the NFL rushing leader with 1202 yards (1551 total) and 15 combined scores. It's amazing that such a spectacular season is flying under the radar. That' because LaDainian Tomlinson has 23 combined touchdowns already (14 his past four games). Next up is Tony Romo. He was originally found in the bargain racks, but after polishing him off, he is proving to be a gem. His 306 yard, 5 TD performance on Turkey Day will undoubtedly add to his luster. He has averaged 281 yards his past four games while sporting a 9 to 1 TD/INT ratio. It does make you wonder why he wasn't turned to earlier. His value is bound to rise (especially with the rumors he's dating Jessica Simpson), so waste no time getting your Romo for $34. Joey Harrington was found in the dollar menu for most of his career, and now finds himself leading the Dolphins to four straight wins. He returned to the town he was ran out of and delivered an impressive three touchdown performance. Lions fans were booing and mocking him. Did they not realize their team is still AWFUL? Good for Joey. He can be yours for $12. Last week featured a lot of heartaches. The 1972 Dolphins popped their champagne last week as the Cowboys handed the Colts their first loss of the year. You can have a bottle of that champagne for $20. Call now before the supplies run out. You can have a case of Chunky's Soup deliverd to your home for $20 plus S & H. I'll have to warn you, you could find yourself injured like Donovan McNabb (Terrell Davis, Kurt Warner, Big Ben, Brian Urlacher, and Michael Strahan are other victims of the Curse). Perhaps LaMont Jordan, Kevin Jones, and Marques Colston also had it as their pregame meals last week. What can only be labeled as tragic, Philadelphia Eagle Andre Waters took his own life on Monday. The hard hitting DB was one of my favorite Eagles.


Now we'll go to our baseball items. Take a look at these shiny MVP awards. The first one belongs to 2nd year phenom Ryan Howard. He shrugged off the notion of a Sophomore Slump by following up his Rookie of the Year season with 58 home runs and the NL MVP. Justin Morneau has become the topic of debate for baseball fans all over the country with his upset win over Derek Jeter in the AL MVP. You can have your replica MVP awards for $50 each or $80 for the set. A few baseball stars have come off the market with the Cubs signing Alfonso Soriano to a $136 million dollar deal. The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, California, United States, North America, Earth signed Gary Matthews away from Texas for $50 million. Juan Pierre won't be welcoming Soriano to the outfield he roamed as he moved out west to the Dodgers for a cool $44 million. You can bid on Carlos Lee, but it's going to cost you a pretty penny in this silent auction.


The NBA is featuring two executive sales. Isiah Thomas and Kevin McHale were Hall of Fame players. They have become Hall of Shame execs though. New York is off to a 4-9 start with Isiah coaching the garbage he assembled. Minnesota has the 2nd worst record in the Western Conference (Memphis is worse, but only because Gasol got hurt in Internation Play). You can have a 2-1 special on these two for $5. They were originally marked at $100 each so this is a real bargain. Hurry up and call. At these prices they can't last long. Jerry Sloan is listed at $40. He always seems to slip under the radar. However, his 11-1 start with the Jazz has to earn him plenty of praise. This time Karl Malone and John Stockton aren't around to get the credit. The Spurs (10-2) and Lakers (8-3) are challenging them for the NBA's elite. Carmelo Anthony doesn't mind the new NBA basketball, which you can order now for $99. Call in the next 15 minutes and we'll throw in free S & H. Carmelo leads the league with a 31 pts/gm scoring average. Dwight Howard leads with 13.8 rbs/gm, and Steve Nash leads with 10.9 assists/gm.



The NHL did some holiday collections this week from Capitals Coach Glen Hanlon ($30K) and Thrasher Coach Bob Hartley ($10K) for a fight between the clubs. Donald Brashear and Brian Sutherby of the Capitals and Scott Mellanby of the Thrashers were suspended for their involvement. Teemu Selanne scored his 500th goal this week. In an NHL special we're selling team t-shirts a dollar per point. Buffalo is leading the way and you can have their shirt for $37. Anaheim ($36), San Jose ($32), Dallas ($30), and Nashville ($30) round out the top five. Columbus ($12), Philadelphia ($13), Phoenix ($14), and St. Louis ($15) are the best bargains. We're also featuring Jaromir Jagr hair extenders for $15. He leads the league with 34 points. Rod Brind'Amour (32), and Marian Hossa (31) are right behind. Brendan Shanahan leads the league in goals with 17 while Jagr leads with 23 assists. Ray Emery is your GAA leader at 2.01. Dominik Hasek trails at 2.06. Evengi Malkin leads rookies with 20 points. He's only played in 16 games, which makes it that much more impressive. The Penguins and the Metallurg Magnitogorsk are still fighting over his rights and retribution.



Last week was the epic Ohio State-Michigan battle. You can buy a DVD of the instant classic for $15. There is bonus coverage of the past five meetings. Act now and we'll throw in a highlight DVD of Cincinnati's upset of #7 Rutgers, #19 Virginia Tech's upset of #14 Wake Forest, and #4 USC's defeat of #17 Cal. For $50, $75, or $100 you can order college football food packages for the quality games this weekend: #3 USC vs. #6 Notre Dame, #5 Arkansas vs. #9 LSU, or #11 Texas vs. 8-3 Texas A & M. In case you missed it between turkey, stuffing, and the NFL, Miami knocked off #18 Boston College yesterday.



Gonzaga knocked off #2 North Carolina. They will face Butler, fresh off an upset of #22 Tennessee in the NIT Season Tip-Off. For $20,000 you can have Adam Morrison watch the game with you. Another $5000, and the mustache will come along. UCLA defeated Georgia Tech to take the Maui Invitational. Call now for half price pineapples and poi. Upsets of the past week: #25 Creigton lost to Nebraska, #8 Georgetown lost to Old Dominion, #8 Duke lost to #17 Marquette, and #19 Georgia Tech knocked off #11 Memphis.


That concludes the Tidbits. As always, feel free to add any stories you liked this week in sports or discuss any of the stories I mentioned. Thanks again for supporting my blog.

Out on a Fantasy Football Limb Volume 11

I'm going back on a limb again for Week 12 in the NFL. I will pick five players that I believe will score more points this week than a higher profile player. The scoring will be 6 points for rushing or receiving TD, 4 points for a passing TD, .1 points per yard for rushing or receiving and .05 points per passing yard. I went 2-3 in my picks last week to fall to 27-23. A deeper look into the numbers shows I'm 7-3 at QB, 10-10 at RB, and 10-10 at the unpredictable WR/TE slot. I also implemented a Super Stretch pick, which I lost. I'll recap last week. I am adding a new feature to this series. I will pick a super stretch. One that looks like an insane pick.

Last Week
Big Ben 23.6 beat Eli 15.3 as I predicted.
LT 41.9 destroyed Willie Parker 18.3 WHICH I GOT HORRIBY WRONG.
Chester Taylor 20 doubled up on Julius Jones 10.4 WHICH I GOT WRONG.
Reggie Wayne 17.1 destroyed Donald Driver 4.2 WHICH I GOT WRONG.
Marvin Harrison 9.4 beat Torry Holt 6.8 as I predicted.
Super Stretch: Philip Rivers 19.2 beat Gradkowski 17.8 WHICH I GOT WRONG.
Season Record: 27-23, 0-1

Why did I try and beat LT? That was foolish.

This Week's Picks


Joey Harrington over Philip Rivers
Joey (1504, 7 TDs) gets his revenge this week. Rivers (2307, 15) will be handing off plenty to LT against the men in black.


Steven Jackson and Marion Barber over LaDainian Tomlinson
LT made me look silly last week. I'm taking him on again. Only this time I'm going 2-on-1. He's that good. Jackson (1293 total yards, 5 TDs) is coming off a pretty poor performance. I'm guessing he'll bounce back. Barber (552 total yards, 9 TDs) punched in twice against the Colts. They will combine forces to take down LT (1488, 22 TDs - plus one passing).


Rudi Johnson over Brian Westbrook
Rudi (897 total, 7 TDs) has a nice matchup against Cleveland. Westbrook (1199, 7 TDs) will be turned to more with McNabb out. He has a nice matchup against Indy, but I'm guessing their key will be to contain Westy. This will be a good test to see where Westbrook's fantasy value is.


Andre Johnson over Chad Johnson
Smith (884, 4 TDs) should smoke Washington. Ocho Cinco (949, 7 TDs) has been on fire. I bet they still play up the Pepto thing in Cleveland.


Braylon Edwards over Lee Evans
Braylon (612, 3) will have a solid game against Cincy. Lee Evans (822, 4) won't keep up his second half history of monster games against Jacksonville.

SUPER STRETCH

DeAngelo Williams over Jamal Lewis
I'll roll out DeAngelo (272, TD) against Washington even though Jamal (669, 5) is clicking.

Previous Out on a Limb Picks
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
Week 5
Week 6
Week 7
Week 8
Week 9
Week 10
Week 11

What did you think of my predictions? Do you have any fantasy upsets in mind? Please leave your comments.

Why your league should be auction

Is your league an auction league? Most often the answer is no. Why is that? Is it because you're used to doing snake drafts? If that's the case, I urge you to at least take some time and consider the possibilty of an auction. How bad do you want the #1 pick next year? Anyone would kill to have LT on their team. #2 won't be that bad either. LJ plays a pretty sweet second fiddle. How many people are in your league? 10? 12? That's either 8 or 10 people who have no prayer at LT or LJ. I don't know about you, but my math says those aren't good odds. You have a 16-20% chance of getting one of the true workhorses. Now imagine an auction draft. If you have a pulse, you have a shot at one of these studs. There is a catch though. You have to pay for it. This is America. If you want the best, you have to pony up. Auction style leagues are Capitalism at its finest. If you want to kick things off with the finest running backs, you will need to be a sharp drafter to fill out your team. What's the penalty for having the first pick in a snake draft? You get the last pick in the 2nd round. Oh no, how dare they. Wait a second. They give you the first pick in the third round to soften the blow. So it's fairer to draft auction style. Am I overreacting? Just how good has LT been this year? He has more TDs (23:19 rushing, 3 receiving, and 1 passing) than Manning (22:20 passing, 2 rushing) or McNabb (21:18 passing, 3 rushing).

So it may be fairer to draft auction style, but the anticipation of your turn is exciting? That is true. You have your eye on a certain player. You hope he makes it to you. Cross your fingers. Screw that. In an auction, you are in every single pick that you want to be. You can bid guys up so they go for fair value. You can go after the guys you want on your team. There is the risk of getting stuck with a guy you're bidding up. The intensity of an auction is unmatched in snake drafts. Sure, it takes more work and preparation. Isn't that what serious fantasy football gamers do? You have to think on your toes. You have to think strategically. Do you name a big stud to sink someone's budget early? Do you hold on to that special guy for late in the draft when you can name your price for him?

I know I won't get people to change overnight, but I urge you to at least consider the auction.

Friday Tidbits - 11/17/06

It's Friday. That means it's payday for many, Casual Friday for some, and Friday's Tidbit time for my faithful readers.


I'll start with the NFL. Congress is looking into the NFL Network's plans to air live games starting on Thanksgiving. I ask myself, why is Congress wasting their time and our money on this, and if there are valid reasons, why wait until a week before the Thanksgiving game (Denver vs. KC by the way)? NFC East running backs took a beating last week. Clinton Portis broke his hand and Tiki broke his thumb. It appears Tiki will fight through his injury, while CP and his many personalities take a spot on the shelf for the year. Trent Green is getting his gig back. Damon Huard did a great job in relief. If the Chiefs would have beat Miami last week, I bet Huard would be starting this week. Another disaster out of Garrard and Leftwich may be found suddenly healthy by Jack Del Rio. Apparently the Patriots need someone to buy beer for the younger players as they have signed Vinny Testaverde. I don't know if it's a common practice to have a player that's older than the head coach and the owner, but the Patriots can check that off their list. Testaverde is eligible for Social Security next year so don't think this is a long term arrangement. It appears Hasselbeck and Shaun Alexander are close to returning. Do they become the NFC favorites again when they get up to speed? The hoopla this week will be surrounding the Colts-Cowboys game. ESPN must be falling all over themselves for this matchup. They always have to start a broadcast by telling us what's happening in Dallas, what MeO had for breakfast, and how long it took for him to digest it. They also love the undefeated run the Colts are having again. They'll be in their full glory when MeO takes on Archie's boy.


I'll skip to MLB only because of the buzz surrounding my beloved Red Sox. The Red Sox dropped a cool $51.1 million for the chance to speak with Daisuke Matsuzaka of the Seibu Lions. My memory can be fuzzy at times, just ask my wife, but I seem to recall the Red Sox saying they didn't have the money to compete with the Yankees last year when they failed to do ANYTHING to help their team before the trading deadline. On top of the $51.1 Matsuzaka could get around $10 million per year for four or five years. If I dot the i and carry the one, I put Matsuzaka at roughly $20 million per year to take the mound every five days. I realize they will probably make money in merchandising, advertising, and TV rights, but that sure seems like a lot of money for a team that was supposedly trying to live on a smaller budget. Could they have signed Barry Zito and Jason Schmidt for the same amount? Dan Patrick brought up an interesting point. Maybe they are going to lowball Matsuzaka so they won't be willing to make a deal. Then the Sox are off the hook for the $51 million, he can't sign with another team for a year, the Yankees or Mets can't have him this year, and they can focus on signing other free agents. Hanley Ramirez and Jason Verlander won Rookies of the Year in their respective leagues. If you recall (Baseball Awards) I pegged both ROYs in October. Brandon Webb took home the NL selection (I was hoping Trevor Hoffman would bring home the hardware). His 16 wins aren't overly impressive, but the starting pitching in the NL was far from dominant this past year. Johan Santana took home his second Cy Young after a brilliant season. I feel it should be his third straight Cy, but they don't give me a vote. Punks. Despite not having a gig, Joe Girardi took home the Manager of the Year in the NL. He's just waiting for the right job opening. In the AL, Jim Leyland beat out Ron Gardenhire. I think Gardy deserved it a touch more because of the pitching injuries he had to overcome. He had a lot less to work with than Leyland had. Punto, Tyner, Bartlett, etc. Not striking fear in anyone's hearts. Despite signing free agent busts like Rondell White and Tony Batista, Twins GM Terry Ryan took home the Major League Exec of the Year award. His trade of A.J. Pierzynski to the Giants for All-Star closer Joe Nathan, next year's #2 starter Boof Bonser, and Francisco Liriano, who finished third in ROY voting despite an elbow injury that will cost him half of this year and all of next year clearly helped Ryan's cause. Drafting catching stud Joe Mauer also helped. Not bad for a guy with champagne tastes on a beer budget.


Darius Miles had surgery on his knee and he'll miss the remainder of the year. He truly is the Bizzaro Kevin Garnett. They look very similar, KG is always healthy while Miles is always hurt, and KG never gets into trouble while Miles occasionally finds himself there. NBA's ironman Kenyon Martin is also out for the year. He has five years, $66 million left on his contract. At that rate he earned $6.6 million a game for the two games he logged this year. Not a bad gig if you can get it. Mr. Moustache Adam Morrison scored a career high 27 points Wednesday night. No word on whether he cried afterwards. Joking aside, it is nice to see someone play with the passion that Morrison plays with. Milwaukee forward Charlie Villanueva is on the shelf for 4-6 weeks with an elbow injury. The second year forward out of UConn was off to another good start. Chris Webber has been benched for the entire 4th quarter two of the seven games this year. He is scoring half his career average. Is this the beginning of the end or does he need a new home? I'm guessing a little bit of both. Baron Davis had one of the best games of this young season Thursday night. He scored 38 points, grabbed 8 boards, and handed out 18 assists. Pretty impressive game. A quick look at the standings shows Utah leading the way with a 7-1 record. San Antonio and Cleveland are next best at 6-2. The Hornets and Warriors are early surprises at 6-3. A look at the leaders shows Michael Redd leading the league in scoring at 31.3/gm (no doubt his 57 point eruption helped vault him to the top), Chris Bosh leads in rebounding at 13.9/gm, and Steve Nash leads with 10.9 assists/gm.


In the NHL a judge ruled that Evgeni Malkin could stay with the Penguins. No word on whether "possession is nine-tenths of the law" was muttered during the arbitration. It would be a lot cooler if it was. Florida's Olli Jokinen scored a hat trick in a 5-1 victory over Montreal Thursday night. The NHL announced a deal with YouTube to show video clips of NHL games. Looks like the NHL is going after a younger audience. This is a smart move for both parties. The NHL's reigning goal scoring champion Jonathan Cheechoo left Wednesday's contest between San Jose and Colorado. No word yet as to how long he'll be out. A peek at the standings and you'll see Buffalo still leading the way with 31 points. Anaheim is next with 30. San Jose (28.), Atlanta (27), and Toronto (26) make up the top 5. Marian Hassa still leads the league in scoring with 31. Jaromir Jagr is right behind with 30 points. Hoss is your goal leader and Jagr is your assist leader. Dominik Hasek leads the league with a 1.76 GAA. Ray Emery (only 6 starts) is next at 1.88 followed by Marty Turco at 1.92. Leading all rookies in scoring is Anze Kopitar with 17 points. Malkin is on his heels with 15.


In college football there is really only one game this weekend. Bowling Green vs. Toledo. Oh wait, #2 Michigan travels to #1 Ohio State. The winner can punch their invite to the National Title game. If it's close, the loser has a chance of a rematch with higher stakes. There are actually some other good games this weekend. #4 USC takes on #17 Cal, #10 Louisville takes on 7-3 South Florida, #14 Wake Forest takes on #19 Virginia Tech, and #20 BC faces #21 Maryland. Last week's upsets: #3 Louisville lost to #15 Rutgers, #4 Texas lost to Kansas State, #5 Auburn got crushed by Georgia, #8 Cal got beat by Arizona, and #24 Texas A&M lost to Nebraska. Joe Paterno may be back at Beaver Stadium for their game against Michigan State. He won't be roaming the sidelines, but hopefully he'll be able to call some plays from a press box. Not taking a hint from Bob Barker, JoePa will be back on the sidelines next year despite turning 80.


The college basketball season has slowly started rolling. I must take this time to thank Bobby Knight for popping me in the chin so I could focus on finishing this entry. His former team got off to a rocky start when Butler beat Indiana in the NIT Season Tip-Off. Preseason All-American Tyler Hansbrough got off to a nice start by scoring 29 points on 11 of 14 shooting. #3 Kansas must have thought it was NCAA tourney time. They got upset by Oral Roberts. Either that or they thought they were going to the dentist and didn't prepare. #19 Texas fell to an unranked Michigan State team. At 4-0 now, the Spartans will be ranked soon enough. USC scored a huge victory when O.J. Mayo signed a national letter of intent to be a Trojan. He has played varsity basketball since he was 13.

That concludes the Tidbits. As always, feel free to add any stories you liked this week in sports or discuss any of the stories I mentioned. Thanks again for supporting my blog.

Out on a Fantasy Football Limb Volume 10

I'm going back on a limb again for Week 11 in the NFL. I will pick five players that I believe will score more points this week than a higher profile player. The scoring will be 6 points for rushing or receiving TD, 4 points for a passing TD, .1 points per yard for rushing or receiving and .05 points per passing yard. I rebounded by going 3-2 in my picks last week to improve to 25-20. A deeper look into the numbers shows I'm 6-3 at QB, 10-8 at RB, and a mere 9-9 at the unpredictable WR/TE slot. I'll recap last week.

Last Week
Steve McNair 31.55 destroyed David Carr 13.15 as I predicted.
Thomas Jones 18.3 destroyed Ahman Green 5.5 as I predicted.
Tiki Barber beat Warrick Dunn 10.8 WHICH I GOT WRONG.
Javon Walker 12.2 beat Roy Williams 8.1 WHICH I GOT WRONG.
Chad Johnson 38 destroyed Marques Colston 16.9 as I predicted.
Season Record: 25-20
I was even better than my 3-2 record suggests this week. The ones I got right were blowouts. The ones that I got wrong were fairly close.

This Week's Picks


Big Ben over Eli Manning
Big Ben (2043 yards, 10 TDs) will keep it rolling against Cleveland. Eli (1972, 15) has come back to Earth. Playing on MNF in Jacksonville won't be easy.


Willie Parker over LaDainian Tomlinson
You can't complain this one is too easy. LT (1309 total yards, 18 TDs) has been on fire. Playing in Denver will slow the LT train a bit. I'm not saying he'll get shut down, but I think Fast Willie (1001 total yards, 10 TDs) will do a little more against Cleveland.


Julius Jones over Chester Taylor
JJ (820 total yards, 3 TDs) faces an Indy D that is bad against the run. Chester Taylor (1012 total yards, 3 TDs) faces a suddenly strong Miami D. JJ will prevail.


Marvin Harrison over Torry Holt
It's Marvin's (719, 5 TDs) turn to be the apple of Peyton's eye again. Carolina will put pressure on Marc Bulger and keep Holt's (697, 7 TDs) from a monster game.


Donald Driver over Reggie Wayne
Driver (771, 4) is coming off a monster effort. He'll keep it up against New England. Wayne (774, 6) will probably still have a solid game, but not as good as Driver.

Previous Out on a Limb Picks
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
Week 5
Week 6
Week 7
Week 8
Week 9
Week 10

What did you think of my predictions? Do you have any fantasy upsets in mind? Please leave your comments.