Thursday August 28, 2003

Note - the Fantasy Football information is quite long. If you want to just look for the Twins or Basketball thoughts, just click on the below links. Thanks!

TWINS THOUGHTS

BASKETBALL THOUGHTS

FANTASY FOOTBALL DRAFTS

OK, as promised, I will now be posting the results of my two fantasy football drafts. Where else can you find a site with FREE Fantasy Football Drafts? The two leagues below are very different, with two separate and different sets of rules. For those of you who are, or will be, in a fantasy football draft, and are looking for just something to get you looking in the right direction, take a look at these.  From this, you can generate your own cheat sheets and gain an idea of where certain players might be drafted.

LEAGUE 1 -

Here are the particulars for this league:

12 teams,

15 rounds (serpentine drafting)

Must maintain a balanced roster (2 QB, 4 RB, 5 WR/TE, 2 K, 2 DEF)

Weekly Play (QB, 2 RB, 3 WR, K, DEF)

Rushing and Receiving - 1 point for every 10 yards.  6 points per TD run or catch. 2 points for 2-pt. Conversions.

Passing - 1 point for every 25 yards passing. 4 points for TD pass.

Kickers - 1 point for extra-point. 3 pts for FG <=39. 4 pts for FG 40-49. 5 pts for FG >=50.

Defense/Spec. Teams - 6 points for TD. 1 point for sacks. 2 points per safety. 1 point for INT or Fumble Recovery.

I got pick #12 (which means I picked #13 second, then didn’t pick again until #36). I hate that spot. Or, maybe I’m just surprised by how the first 8 picks went, and I thought that there might be other options there for me. Here is the draft in its entirety, followed by the Best Pick, Most Risky Pick, Worst Pick and Seth’s pick in each round. Note these are simply my opinion on these things. They mean absolutely nothing, just fun to “judge” before any of the games are even played.

Analysis -

Round 1 -

Best pick - Priest Holmes (at 8, that is a huge steal… if he’s healthy)

Most risky pick - Marshall Faulk (at 3, might be too soon, based on injuries)

Worst pick - Ahman Green (he’s been going much later in most drafts)

Seth’s pick - Travis Henry (Best RB still available, that I still wanted. Ran for a lot of yards last year. Will be very important early in the year for the Bills.  Willis McGahee possibly being available to play by Week 6 makes it somewhat risky, but he’ll average nearly 100 yards rushing, and some more receiving each week. And, he’ll score some TDs)

Round 2 -

Best pick - Stephen Davis (should get plenty of carries in Carolina!)

Most risky pick - Kurt Warner (could be a steal, but he’s been off for 2 years!)

Worst pick - not really a bad pick, I don’t like Dillon, but he gets yards.

Seth’s pick - Marvin Harrison (It really was a no-brainer. I had preferred to go RB/RB in the first two rounds, but Harrison is the best WR in the league, and if he approaches 140 receptions again this year, he should post plenty of yards and plenty of TDs.)

Round 3 -

Best pick - Fred Taylor (if he’s healthy for 16 games, he’s a steal here)

Most risky pick - Fred Taylor (he’s been healthy all year just once)

Worst pick - Koren Robinson (not a terrible pick, I just had him ranked quite a bit lower)

Seth’s pick - Peerless Price (I’m not sold on him being a great #1 receiver, so I’m not overly confident with this pick.  I hope I’m wrong. If he performs like last year, he’s a top 5 WR)

Round 4 -

Best pick - Hines Ward (he should catch well over 100 balls again)

Most risky pick - Michael Vick (could be a steal, if he comes back at 100% Too early?)

Worst pick - Trung Canidate (is he for sure their starter? And, if so, why?????)

Seth’s pick - Michael Vick (may have been too early, but he was my #1 QB in this format prior to his injury. Hopefully he can be back by week 5. If I can stay in contention that long, he could be a difference maker! He wouldn’t have been around by the time I picked next.)

Round 5 -

Best pick - Laverneus Coles (should thrive in the passing schemes of Steve Spurrier)

Most risky pick - Jerry Rice (you’d have to think that at 42, he’d slow down, right? But we thought that at 41, and 40, and…

Worst pick - Tim Brown (unlike Rice, Brown is done!)

Seth’s pick - Stacy Mack (was always the goal-line guy in Jacksonville. Now he’s the starter for Houston. I think this is a pretty safe pick. The concern is how good (or non-good) the Houston offense will perform this year)

Round 6 -

Best pick - Ashley Lelie (will take time from… <see Worst Pick>)

Most risky pick - Onterrio Smith (he’s a rookie who’s not promised anything. Might be too early)

Worst pick - Ed McCaffrey (<from Best Pick>… who is Done!)

Seth’s pick - Onterrio Smith (I think he’ll be the Vikings starting RB by Week 2 and that he has the potential to be a great RB even this year. It’s probably a reach, but I hope it works out)

Round 7 -

Best pick - Kevan Barlow (getting him this low will prove to be a steal)

Most risky pick - Jeff Garcia (is his back going to be OK?)

Worst pick - Jeremy Shockey (he’s talking too much for someone who’s done nothing! Just too early for a TE when there are so many good receivers left.)

Seth’s pick - Emmitt Smith (this was a stretch, I admit. But I figured he will start out as the Cards top RB. If he stays healthy, 1,000 yards is possible, and he should still rack up some TDs.)

Round 8 -

Best pick - Josh Reed (Will step up and become a star with Price now in Atlanta)

Most risky pick - Robert Ferguson (Favre needs to throw to someone, can Ferguson step up?)

Worst pick - D’Wayne Bates (I hope I’m wrong, I hope he’s lights-out, just think too early)

Seth’s pick - Travis Taylor (he’s been so inconsistent the last couple years.  He’s the guy in Baltimore though, capable of over 1,000 yards and some TDs.)

Round 9 -

Best pick - Steve McNair (never goes as high as he should. He always performs well)

Most risky pick - Kelly Holcombe (I think it’s a great pick, but now he’s the starter, not just the backup, the pressure is on.)

Worst pick - Adrian Peterson (could be a steal if A-Train is given up on, but too early)

Seth’s pick - Miami Defense (With the addition of Junior Seau, they could get a lot of sacks and force some turnovers. Their DBs are great too. Probably too early for a Defense, but the Dolphins and Buccs are the only two D’s I’d really want.)

Round 10 -

Best pick - Andre Johnson (I think he’ll out-produce fellow rookie Charles Rogers)

Most risky pick - Brandon Stokely (never consistent in Baltimore, can he help Indy?)

Worst pick - Alge Crumpler (only 3 tight ends should be considered when WR and TE and lumped as one position... and Todd Heap was still available)

Seth’s pick - Tom Brady (I need a QB who doesn’t have a bye week until after week 6, because of Vick being unable to play. The Patriots like to throw, so hopefully Brady can rack up some yards and some TDs until Vick is able to play.)

Round 11 -

Best pick - Larry Johnson (with Priest Holmes health fear, grabbing his backup is smart!)

Most risky pick - Michael Pittman (it’s hard to put up points in jail!)

Worst pick - Joey Galloway (Dallas’s best offensive option… I don’t know that that means much!)

Seth’s pick - Marc Boerigter (I considered taking him as early as Round 7 because I think he’s a sleeper with huge potential. Big, fast, great hands, and plays in a passing system.)

Round 12 -

Best pick - Kevin Johnson (at this point, he’s a very solid pick)

Most risky pick - Vinny Testaverde (he hasn’t played for awhile and he’s old and slow)

Worst pick - None… We’re talking primarily about kickers and defenses, and they really don’t matter after the first few of each.

Seth’s pick - Olindo Mare (a kicker. I picked out 12 kickers that I could live with. Mare was #10 on that list)

Round 13 -

Best pick - Brad Johnson (never superb, usually pretty solid and consistent)

Most risky pick - Joey Harrington (safe here. He is still young, but they’ll have to throw a lot)

Worst pick - none

Seth’s pick - Matt Stover (kicker #2. #2 Kickers just don’t matter too much to me)

Round 14 -

Best pick - Jamel White (3^rd down back, but will get plenty of touches)

Most risky - are picks this late really risky any more?

Worst pick - again, mainly kickers and defenses.

Seth’s pick - Keenan McCardell (was great in the post-season for the Buccs last season, and is the #2 with Keyshawn Johnson. This is a pretty safe pick at this stage, I think. Worst case, he’s still my #5 receiver)

Round 15 -

Best pick - LaBrandon Toefield (Fragile Fred Taylor’s backup! Not a bad thing to have!)

Most risky pick - see round 14.

Worst pick - None.

Seth’s pick - Houston Defense (they were pretty good last year. But, still just my #2 defense, so I didn’t think real hard about it. They were the only D left on my list of 8 Defenses I’d draft.)

 

So, there you have it. Draft #1 in its entirety, plus some quick analysis. 

How did I do? Which team will dominate? E-mail me.

That brings us to the draft I was in that was held on Tuesday night.

LEAGUE 2 -

Here are the particulars for this league:

This team is a team I co-own with a friend named Tyler. This league is mostly comprised of the teams in a similar fantasy baseball league we are in.

10 teams, 14 rounds (serpentine drafting)

Must draft (2 QB, 4 RB, 4 WR, TE, K,  DEF, 1 Extra (any position))

Weekly play - (QB, 3 RB, 3 WR, TE, K, DEF)

Rushing and Receiving - 70 yards = 1 point, 1 pt for every 10 yards over 70.  6 points per TD run or catch. 2 points for 2-pt. Conversions.

Passing - 250 yards = 3 points. 3 points for every 50 yards passing over 250. 4 points for TD pass.

Kickers - 1 point for extra-point. 3 pts for FG <=39. 4 pts for FG 40-49. 5 pts for FG >=50.

Defense/Spec. Teams - 6 points for TD. 1 point for sack. 2 points for safety. 1 point for INT or Fumble Recovery. 6 points for a shutout.

We got pick #3 (which means we drafted 3^rd, then 18^th, then 23^rd…).

Round 1 -

Best pick - (They’re all good, but Tomlinson at 3 is pretty good.)

Most risky pick - (None really, but Terrell Owens’ success depends somewhat on the health of QB Jeff Garcia.)

Worst pick - (None.)

Seth’s pick - (I had Ricky Williams ranked #1 and Tomlinson #2, so to get him at #3 was really a no-brainer.  We did briefly consider taking Priest Holmes, but thought Ladanian was the right choice.)

Round 2 -

Best pick - Shaun Alexander (I ranked him #7 overall, just behind Deuce McAllister)

Most risky pick - Ahman Green (only because he was this high coming off a bad season)

Worst pick - None.

Seth’s pick - Daunte Culpepper (With Vick injured, we took our #1 rated QB here. Very surprised he was there this late.)

Round 3 -

Best pick - Rich Gannon (the League MVP is a pretty good passer on a passing team. In this format, I thought he’d go higher.)

Most risky pick - Jeff Garcia (again, because of his back problems)

Worst pick - Brett Favre (ahead of Gannon? Ahead of Warner? Ahead of… you get the point.)

Seth’s pick - Fred Taylor (in the third round, he’s definitely worth the risk, especially since he played the full year last year. With Stacy Mack now in Houston, Taylor should get more goal line runs.)

Round 4 -

Best pick - Plaxico Burress (the favorite WR of QB Tommy Maddox. Big play always possible!)

Most risky pick - Boston or Martin (coming off injury-plagued seasons)

Worst pick - Jeremy Shockey (can you tell I don’t like him?  He talks more for someone who’s done nothing in the NFL than the Vikings Chris Hovan!  And, Tony Gonzalez was still available)

Seth’s pick - Curtis Martin (we wanted three starting RBs in the first 4 rounds, and with Martin, we got that.  I think he’ll come back, but he may split some time with Lamont Jordan)

Round 5 -

Best pick - Kurt Warner (worth the risk in the 5^th round)

Most risky pick – Trung Canidate (was behind Lamar Gordon in St. Louis last year.)

Worst pick - Isaac Bruce (Not really a bad pick at all, hemay have a comeback year, but there were better options out there yet)

Seth’s pick - Amani Toomer (The Giants were an offensive machine toward the end of last season, and Toomer had over 1,300 yards.  We needed a WR though, and thought Toomer was the best available.)

Round 6 -

Best pick - Amos Zereoue (he’s unseated The Bus, Jerome Bettis as the Steelers starter. I don’t expect him to lose that job!)

Most risky pick - Anthony Thomas (plenty of uncertainty regarding his status with the team)

Worst pick - Moe Williams (just too soon. He will score lots of TDs though, unless Culpepper takes some away!)

Seth’s pick - Derrick Mason (fought injuries last year and missed 5 or 6 games, and still had over 1,000 yards and 8 TDs.)

Round 7 -

Best pick - James Stewart (a starting RB in the 7^th round is a steal, even if he plays for the Lions)

Most risky pick - Marty Booker (will he get 100 catches with Kordell Stewart as his QB?)

Worst pick - Troy Hambrick (well, I guess the starter for the Cowboys maybe isn’t such a good thing!)

Seth’s pick - Michael Vick (a risk again, but in the 7^th round, and with Daunte already on our roster, it’s pretty safe.)

Round 8 -

Best pick - Matt Hasselbeck (really played well at the end of last season, should continue this year)

Most risky pick - Jimmy Smith (when he comes back from 4 game suspension, what will be going on with the Jags? Who will be QB?)

Worst pick - Jerome Bettis (again… he’s done!)

Seth’s pick - Troy Brown (Should get about 1,200 yards and some TDs. Only concern is the Patriots WR depth.)

Round 9 -

Best pick - Reed or Mack

Most risky pick - Dunn (will he lose playing time to TJ Duckett)

Worst pick - Kevin Faulk (could have been had later, maybe?)

Seth’s pick - Miami D (the #2 defense, and lots of WRs were still left to be taken)

Round 10 -

Best pick - Tai Streets (now the clear #2 in San Francisco, should come to life)

Most risky pick - Charles Rogers (rookie WRs rarely do well)

Worst pick - Joey Galloway (again, plays for Dallas, Quincy Carter is the QB)

Seth’s pick - Alge Crumpler (in the other draft, I called him a bad pick. In this league, where TE’s are their own position, we like him because he will get yards, and should score a few TD’s.)

Round 11 -

Best pick - Steve McNair (again, too consistently good to be this low)

Most risky pick - Pittman (the jail thing)

Worst pick - Pittman

Seth’s pick - John Carney (the Saints will score a lot, so we liked Carney. They play home games on turf and indoors too.)

Round 12 -

Best pick - Patrick Ramsey (Washington’s going to throw the ball a lot!)

Most risky pick - Marcel Shipp (could be great, but Emmitt will get the first shot)

Worst pick - None.

Seth’s pick - Todd Pinkston (was ok last year. Philly just signed him long-term for some big money, so they have to throw to him lots, right?)

Round 13 -

Best pick - TJ Duckett (I think he’ll get goal line situations and TDs, but soon, he’ll get the majority of the playing time too.)

Most risky pick - none.

Worst pick - none.

Seth’s pick - Duckett.

Round 14 -

Best pick - Kelly Holcombe (put up great numbers when he started last year, now he’s the starter)

Most risky pick - again, nothing really risky this late.

Worst pick - none.

Seth’s pick - Kenny Watson (you may have noticed I don’t have much confidence in Trung Canidate. Kenny Watson started a few games for the Redskins last season, and twice went over 100 yards!)

 

What do you think of my team?  Which team will win the division?  E-mail me.

So, there you have it.  League 1 - not real happy with my team. League 2 - really excited to get it going! But, that’s why they play the games, right?! I hope you’ve enjoyed this information and the analysis.

Please be sure to e-mail me any thoughts that you have on any of this, or e-mail me just to get my opinion on something (Strategy, specific players, etc.).

TWINS THOUGHTS

Well, the Twins lost a very winnable game last night. They gave the Angels 2 runs in the first inning, then clawed back to tie the game at 3, before going behind 4-3 the next ½ inning.  After tying the game at 4, the Angels took a 5-4 lead the following half inning, and that proved to be the final score. This is another pattern for the Twins this season. 

It was just a bad game all around. Too many bad pitches. Too much continued lack of timely hitting. Too many people trying to hit home runs rather than just slapping a single the other way. Too much Jacque Jones overthrowing the cutoff all the time! Again, it was just a bad game (just one game though, right?), and I don’t feel like writing much about them!

Lew Ford had a single and a double for Rochester last night in his rehab stint with the Redwings. Justin Morneau and Michael Cuddyer also had doubles, while Michael Restovich had two singles.

For a detailed look, comparing this year’s Anaheim Angels team to last years, please check out Aaron’s Baseball Blog today.

Yesterday, I wrote about the Brian Giles trade. At the end of Aaron’s entry today, you’ll see his posting from yesterday, which was another look into the Giles trade.

The White Sox again crushed David Wells and the Yankees, 11-2. Bartolo Colon got the win. The Sox got homers from Frank Thomas, Roberto Alomar, and another from Paul Konerko who has heated up at just the right time!

The Royals dominated the Rangers for the second consecutive night winning 9-0.  Last night, it was Darrell May who got the win. Newly acquired Rondell White led the way going 2-3 with a triple and 4 RBI.

So, the White Sox still lead the Royals by 1 game, but their lead over the Twins jumps to 2 ½ games.

So, are the Twins DONE now? Check out the Discussion Question of the Week below and send me your thoughts on the rest of the season?

BASKETBALL THOUGHTS

Larry Bird was named Director of Basketball Operations for the Indiana Pacers about seven weeks ago. At that time, it was speculated that he would fire Isaiah Thomas. Yesterday, that move finally happened. The timing is really strange.

It is incredibly obvious that the man Bird wants to replace Thomas with, is his former assistant with the Pacers and former Pistons head coach, Rick Carlisle.  Something must have happened in the past couple of days that made Carlisle agree to coach the Pacers. That’s not official, but it’s the only way that the timing of this firing makes any sense. I would expect an announcement by the end of the week.

Discussion Question of the Week

The Twins have 35 games left in the season. They are in a very close race with the Chicago White Sox and the Kansas City Royals. What do you think will happen the rest of the season? Will the Twins win the division? Who will step up? What are the keys to their success? Who will fall flat on his face? You can be serious if you want. You can be funny! I’d just like to hear what the rest of you are thinking on this.

Think about the question a little bit. Then send me an e-mail with your thoughts. Again, I will post the thoughts I receive in next Friday’s post.

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