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After many months of blogging under The Sporting News umbrella , and more recently on Associated Content I am stepping out on my own. Well, not exactly on my own. Fantasy Players Network has welcomed me as their newest member. They are going to help get the word out for me. I am very grateful and excited about the opportunity.I have been blogging for about 20 months, right after Pittsburgh defeated Seattle in the Super Bowl. I thought there were many questionable calls and wanted to vent about it. So I used the SportingNews blog capabilites and wrote it down. Nobody paid any attention to it, but I kind of liked writing about sports. I became more and more active both on the SportingNews threads, but even more so writing my blog. For some reason people started to respond to my writing and eventually I cracked the Top 20 for page views on the site. Like a wildfire I began ascending towards the top, which is where I sit now with over 875,000 page views since my initial blog. I won't begin to try and explain the phenomenom of people checking out my site, I am just flattered by it. I was quoted in a Business Week online article last year, which led me to meeting Jeff Pester, President of TurfWar.com, who put me in tough with the Fantasy Players Network. That's how LestersLegends.com became a reality.Most of my attention will be on football. More specifically, fantasy football. I, like millions of you out there, can't get enough of fantasy football. I am constantly checking my team for player updates, looking for trade possibilities, and scanning the waiver wire. I also read the message board for any new smack talk. On my site I am going to be talking about fantasy football. I'll make predictions, try and dig out some waiver wire gems, and much more. If you have a lineup question or a trade question, I'll be glad to give my advise. I'm not always right, but it's nice to have another ear to bounce things off of. I encourage comments from readers. I love a great debate. I post frequently so please check back to see what we're talking about.

Friday Tidbits - 12/29/06

Last tidbits of 2006. The year has zipped on by. I'll start with some non-sports news. The nation lost a President (Gerald Ford) and a legendary performer (James Brown) this past week. Let's take a moment to reflect on the legacy they've left behind.

Jeff "Cherry" Garcia
Stop the presses. LT failed to score a touchdown. OK, back to the NFL portion of the tidbits. A backup QB stole the show in the Philly-Dallas game. No, it wasn't Tony Romo despite joking around with American Idol beauty Carrie Underwood. No, it was Jeff Garcia leading the way as Philly beat the Golden Boy and his 'Boys. I bet it felt good for Garcia to beat MeO. If you recall Garcia was the original QB MeO took shots at. Earlier in the year, McNabb got to enjoy a solid victory over MeO and the Cowboys. Fred Smoot got into a one car collision when his 2007 Rolls-Royce, driven by a friend, struck a guard rail in the early hours last Saturday. Smoot broke his jaw in five places. It has to be eating him up that he can't run his motormouth. The complete opposite of Smoot, Coach Brad Childress held this info until the next Wednesday. Childress also made the spotlight by cutting Marcus Robinson on Christmas Eve with one game to go. Not even the Grinch is that heartless. I guess Robinson shouldn't have spoke out about Childress. It's probably not getting a lot of play nationally, but Brad Childress has looked like a complete buffoon his rookie coaching career. Five of the NFC playoff spots are filled. NYG, GB, ATL, CAR, and STL are fighting for the last spot with 7-8 records. In the AFC, there wildcards are open. NYJ and KC have the edge at 9-6. Cincy, Jax, and Tennessee (behind a six game winning streak) have outside shots. Jokeland and Detroilet are battling for the #1 pick. Michael Strahan's return was short-lived. He came back just in time to watch his team get smoked. Now he's back on the shelf.

Denver's new "Answer"
Allen Iverson got off to a good start with Denver. He started with 22 points and 10 assists. In his 2nd game with his new club he scored 28 while handing out 13 assists. His third game he shouldered the scoring load by pouring 44 pouts. He also dropped 10 dimes for his third straight double-double helping George Karl win his 800th game. Rip Hamilton dropped 51 on the Knicks in a triple overtime losing effort. It was almost a Final Four as the top four teams squared off Thursday. Dallas dumped Phoenix. San Antonio dropped Utah. Yao Ming will be shut down for a while after he fractured a bone in his knee. Another big man with a bum knee is New Jersey's Nenad Krstic. He'll miss the rest of the year with a torn ACL. Rashard Lewis will be on the shelf for two months after hand surgery. Chris Paul turned his ankle, and will miss a few games. D-Wade sprained his wrist, and coach Pat Riley thinks Kirk Hinrich did it intentionally. Jason Kidd thought he was funny calling the refs "three blind mice". David Stern didn't find the humor and slapped him with a $20K fine. Some positive news, Tracy McGrady and Ray Allen recently returned from injury. Dallas holds the NBA's best record at 22-7, sporting an 8 game winning streak. Memphis is the worst with a 6-24 record. Mike Fratello got the Donald Trump treatment for his losing ways.

The Zito has landed.

Barry Zito stayed in the Bay Area afterall. No, he won't be donning an A's cap next year. He jumped ship to join Barry B*nds on the Giants. His 7 year, $126 million deal is the richest ever signed by a pitcher. Speaking of B*nds, Federal investigators were granted permission to use the names and samples of 100 MLB players who tested positive for steroids in 2003. Hopefully, this will let the cat out of the bag for some past users, and not have all the ire placed on B*nds and Mark McGwir*. The players' union in naturally fighting the union. I say tough crap. Your players cheated. You know your players cheated. Quit trying to cover it up, and take your medicine. Toronto's favorite Shea Hillenbrand is heading out west to Anaheim. Juan Rivera broke his leg in winter ball, and Hillenbrand's bat will help fill the void. John Gibbons and the Blue Jay fans will be hurt he didn't decide to return to Toronto. Ken Griffey, Jr. broke his hand, imagine that, at home. I bet he could break a rib sneezing. The Brew Crew got a new bartender. Jeff Suppan signed on for 4 years, $42 million. He has a career record of 106-101 and a 4.60 ERA. He did pitch for Kansas City though, which hurt that record. He is 44-26 over the past three years with the Cardinals. He also had an outstanding NLCS vs. the Mets going 1-0 with a 0.60 ERA in 15 innings. The Yankees signed Japanese import pitcher Rei Igawa to a five year, $20 million deal. Those same Yankees are shopping Randy Johnson to Arizona. I wonder if that's a sign that the Rocket may be making a return landing in the Bronx. The White Sox dealt Brandon McCarthy to Texas. Chris Brown, a former All-Star third baseman with the Giants died a month after a fire at his house. Earlier this month, former teammate Juan Uribe died in a car crash in the Dominican Republic.

Buffalo's Daniel Briere
Buffalo peppered Washington for six goals in the first period Tuesday night. They were motivated by a cheap shot Alex Ovechkin had on co-captain Daniel Briere the last time they played. Rick DiPietro recorded his third straight home shutout Tuesday. Blue Jackets goalie Pascal Leclaire's and Senators center Mike Fisher's bum knees will keep them out six weeks. Brenden Morrow, captain of the Dallas Stars, injured his wrist when he was stepped on with a skate. He'll be down for a while. Anaheim (62) and Buffalo (57) are still the top teams. The Northwest Division is as tight as a pair of Nicole Richie pants on Rosie O'Donnell. Vancouver leads with 39 points. There is a four-way tie for 2nd with 38 points. Sidney "Crosby Kids" still leads the league in scoring with 55 points. Anke Kopitar has taking the rookie scoring lead away from Malkin with 35 points. Dominik Hasek leads the league with an insane 1.82 GAA.

Mild-natured Knight
Bobby Knight tied Dean Smith on the All-time win list with his 879th victory over Bucknell. He lost his first attempt against UNLV to take sole possession of first. His next attmept will be against New Mexico on New Year's Day. Florida pounded Ohio State this weekend. Greg Oden was held to 7 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 blocks. Joakim Noah didn't do much offensivley, but Taurean Green picked up the slack with 24 points. #8 Wichita State had a rough weekend with New Mexico and USC handing them back-to-back losses. They were the first two losses of the year for Wichita State. USC upset #13 Washington Thursday night. #12 Texas A & M blasted Grambling State 101-27. Some games to watch this weekend are #7 Arizona vs. 7-2 Stanford, #9 Uconn vs. 9-1 West Virginia, #18 Nevada vs. 9-4 Gonzaga, and #4 Wisconsin vs. 8-2 Georgia. The game of the weekend is #1 UCLA vs. #13 Washington.

Rutgers Coach Greg Schiano
Bowl season rolls on. We're actually getting into the better ones. First, I'll recap this week's games. Troy rolled on Rice 41-17. South Florida beat East Carolina 24-7. San Jose knocked off New Mexico 20-12. Utah beat Tulsa 25-13. Hawaii pounded Arizona State 41-24. Central Michigan whipped Middle Tennessee State 31-14. Florida State beat UCLA 44-27. Oklahoma State beat Alabama 34-31. Cal thumped Texas A&M 45-10. Rutgers won their first ever Bowl game 37-10 over Kansas State. Upcoming games are Clemson-Kentucky, Oregon State-Missouri, Houston-South Carolina, Texas Tech-Minnesota, Purdue-Maryland, Navy-Boston College, Texas-Iowa, Georgia-Virginia Tech, Miami-Nevada, and Tennessee-Penn State. The Cotton Bowl pits Auburn against Nebraska, Wisconsin and Arkansas square off in the Capital One Bowl, Georgia Tech faces West Virginia in the Gator Bowl, USC and Michigan wage a War of Roses, Boise State and Oklahoma clash in the Fiesta Bowl, Louisville and Wake Forest go at it in the Orange Bowl, and the Sugar Bowl finds Notre Dame taking on LSU.

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.

Out on a Fantasy Football Limb Vol. 15

I'm going back on a limb again for Week 16 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 35-35. A deeper look into the numbers shows I'm 9-5 at QB, 14-14 at RB, and 12-16 at the WR/TE slot. I also implemented a Super Stretch pick, which I won to improve to 1-4. I'll recap last week.

Last Week

Michael Vick 33.45 destroyed Brett Favre 8.6 WHICH I GOT WRONG.
Frank Gore 23.8 beat Maurice Jones-Drew 20.5 WHICH I GOT WRONG.
Jamal Lewis 17.4 beat Tiki Barber 16.4 as I predicted.
Donald Driver 7.7 beat Chad Johnson 3.8 as I predicted.
Javon Walker 14.4 beat Jerricho Cotchery 5.6 WHICH I GOT WRONG

Super Stretch

Jeff Garcia 17.45 beat Marc Bulger 6.85 as I predicted.

Season Record: 35-35, 1-4

This Week's Picks

Brett Favre over Peyton Manning

I've tried this matchup once before with success. Favre (3315, 17 TDs) is going to shine in the Thursday night game. Peyton Manning (3910, 26 TDs) reminded everyone he's still the best QB in the regular season on MNF. He has an easy assignment against Houston, but I expect them to call off the dogs.

Edgrrin James over Willie Parker

Edge (1202 total, 5 TDs) has started to figure things out. He should have room to run against SF. Willie Parker (1542, 14 TDs) has exceeded expecations by a long shot. Baltimore is a tough draw for the Fantasy Football Super Bowl in most weeks though.

Reggie Bush over Tiki Barber

Westbrook gave the G-Men fits last week. Bush (1125, 6 TDs) should have similar success. Tiki (1786, 2 TDs) won't find the endzone again against the Saints.

Donald Driver over Chad Johnson

Chad (1284, 7 TDs) is calling for a repeat. I'll oblige. Driver (1173, 7 TDs) should be able to get off against the Vikes again.

Travis Taylor over Lavernanues Coles

Taylor (588, 2) should be able to produce against the Packers. I'm Coles (1065, 6) torched the Vikes. The Dolphins are a tougher foe, especially at home.

SUPER STRETCH

Tim Rattay over Jon Kitna

Rattay (351, 3 TDs) gets to pick up the pieces in Tampa. He should fair well against Cleveland. Kitna (3619, 14 TDs) gets to face a suddenly not-so-tough Chicago Defense. They'll get their mojo back against the Lions though.

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

Week 13

Week 14

Week 15

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

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.

Out on a Fantasy Football Limb Vol. 14

I'm going back on a limb again for Week 15 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 got crushed going 1-4 in my picks last week to fall to 33-32. A deeper look into the numbers shows I'm 9-4 at QB, 13-13 at RB, and 11-15 at the WR/TE slot. I also implemented a Super Stretch pick, which I lost to fall to 0-4. I'll recap last week.

Last Week
Carson Palmer 26.85 beat Vince Young 25.51 WHICH I GOT WRONG.
LT 29.2 beat Frank Gore and Brandon Jacobs 22.8 & 1.6 WHICH I GOT WRONG.
Maurice Jones-Drew 30.1 crushed Marion Barber -0.1 as I predicted.
Chad Johnson 10.1 beat Roy Williams 7.3 WHICH I GOT WRONG.
Javon Walker 5.2 beat Jerricho Cotchery 3.7 WHICH I GOT WRONG.
Super Stretch
Marc Bulger 29.8 crushed JP Losman 15.85 WHICH I GOT WRONG.
Season Record: 33-32, 0-4

This Week's Picks

Brett Favre over Michael Vick
Favre (3141, 17 pasing, 31,1 rushing) was once a Falcon. He will beat up the Lions this weekend more than current Falcon Michael Vick (2047, 15 passing, 934, 2 rushing). Vick will likely break 1000 rushing this weekend though.

Jamal Lewis over Tiki Barber
Jamal (954 total, 7) loves playing Cleveland. Tiki (1682 total, 1 TD) just can't find the endzone.


Maurice Jones-Drew over Frank Gore
MJD (1001 total, 11 TDs) exploded against Indy. He should be very solid against Tennessee next week. Gore (1731, 6 TDs) faces a Seattle team that just allowed 100 yards to Edge. They'll be fired up.

Watch your hands ladies.
Donald Driver over Chad Johnson
I'll try my luck again against Chad (1247, 7) despite his torrid pace. The Colts allow so many rushing yards, Chad could get some rest this week. Driver (1103, 7) has been on fire, and facing Detroit should only add to the flames.


Jerricho Cotchery over Javon Walker
I call a rematch. Jerricho (802, 5) should be able to get open against Minnesota. Javon (1043 total yards, 7 TDs) should be able to have his way with the Arizona secondary, but I'm guessing they Broncos will rely on the run more.

SUPER STRETCH

Jeff Garcia over Marc Bulger
Garcia (805, 8.) is clicking with the Eagles. He should be able to soar against the Giants. I'll pick on Bulger (3528, 19) again, as he faces the Raiders strong secondary.

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
Week 13
Week 14

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