Health Tips for A-Rod

According to ESPN, Anthony Bosch injected A-Rod with PED's multiple times in A-Rod's mansion in Biscayne Bay. This is still a developing story, but if true, it could mean a 50 game suspension for A-Rod and possible the end of his career with the Yankees. The Yankees are rumored to be looking for ways to terminate A-Rod's contract.

I am not a doctor, but I would never use performance enhancing drugs to provide a short term gain while potentially sacrificing my long term health. This type of short-term thinking never seems to work out in the long run for athletes who use PED's....I'm looking at you Lance Armstrong. A-Rod has already admitted to PED's earlier in his career. If these new rumors are true, I suspect that his legacy will face a similar fate as that of Lance Armstrong's. They bent the rules to gain an advantage and in doing so they tarnished their legacies, potentially damaged their bodies, and set a terrible example of how to rise to the top of professional sports. My concern is that our talented young athletes will also see PED's as a quick way to the top, even at the risk of a long term flameout.

Fantasy Baseball Rankings 2013

This is a fantasy football site, but I am considering publishing fantasy baseball rankings this year as well. Fantasy baseball is a very different game than fantasy football, requiring daily line-up checks and head to head matches over the course of a week (depending on your rules).

The recent baseball ped scandal may have a significant impact on your fantasy draft this year, as some very high profile players have been names including Gio Gonzalez, Nelson Cruz, and Alex Rodriguez.

Look for a post in the coming weeks with some fantasy baseball comments based on position. 

An Idiot Abroad 3: Available on iTunes

There are only 2 things that I like about January. Football playoffs and the new season of an Idiot Abroad 3. Saturday night is episode 3 of an Idiot abroad 3 and I highly recommend the show to anyone who hasn't seen it. Its easily the funniest show on television right now, but its also a travel show and you will visit unique parts of the world in ways that you have never seen before.

Episode 2 takes Karl Pilkington and his companion Warwick Davis through India. Karl and Warwick try laughing Yoga and get parts in a Bollywood movie. 

You can also find seasons 1 and 2 of an Idiot Abroad on itunes.  

Super Bowl 2013 Preview

The Super Bowl is this Sunday February 3rd in the New Orleans Super Dome. Will it live up to Super Bowl 2012 in Indianpolis at Lucas Oil Stadium?

Last year featured a rematch between the New England Patriots and the New York Giants. The Giants prevailed with 21-17 win over the Patriots, giving Eli Manning his second Super Bowl victory.

SuperBowl XLVII features the San Francisco 49ers vs. the Baltimore Ravens. The 49ers (5 time super bowl winners) enter the game led by second year QB Colin Kaepernick. Kaepernick's athletic ability combined with his sharp passing and quick decision making has ignited the 49ers offense. Meanwhile, the Ravens are riding the shoulder of hot-handed QB Joe Flacco, who has yet to throw and interception in the playoffs.

However, both of these teams are where their are because of how well they play defense. The Ravens defense is fueled by the emotion of Ray Lewis, who will be playing in his last NFL game before retirement. The defense is older, but they have been playing inspired football in the playoffs. The 49ers are anchored by inside lineback Patrick Willis.

Other key players include 49ers RB Frank Gore and Ravens RB Ray Rice. Both of these guys are tough physical runners who are hard to stop once they get going. Ray Rice is a small beast at 5'8" and 210 lbs.

The other interesting story line from this game is the coaches. Brothers Jim Harbaugh (49ers) and John Harbaugh (Ravens) will become the fast brother head coaches to face off in the Super Bowl.

It should be a great game, although its always bittersweet because it marks the end of football for another year.

When is the super bowl? Kickoff is at 6:30pm on 2/3/2013. But you may want to start watching earlier to catch some of the new super bowl commercials as well.

Fantasy Football Quarterback Rankings Published

New Fantasy football quarterback rankings have been published. These rankings will be continually updated and expanded throughout the year. Just click the tab at the top of the page to get the latest rankings. 

Fantasy Football Running Back Rankings Posted

I've just posted new fantasy football running back rankings. This year, I'll be creating a tab at the top of the site for each positional ranking. One for RB, QB, TE, WR, K, and Def.

Let me know if you have any feedback. 

Donald Driver announced retirement from football

I was listening to Mike and Mike this morning when Donald Driver made a surprise announcement that he is retiring from football. Donald Driver has won a lot of fantasy games for me and many others through the years so I thought a would take a few moments to review his accomplishments.

Its been a few years since Driver has been a significant fantasy football factor. However, throughout his career he put up 10,137 yards and a total of 61 touchdowns and 743 receptions. His best year was 2006/2007 when he put up 92 receptions for 1,295 yards and 8 touchdowns.

Thanks for the great production Donald. 

Fantasy Football Quarterbank Rankings 2010

Its draft time. Here are my top 25 Quarterbacks for the 2010 fantasy football season:


1
Aaron Rodgers
Its Rodgers year to take over.



2
Drew Brees
Should put up stellar numbers again



3
Peyton Manning
The most consistent player in fantasy football



4
Tony Romo
New exciting rookie WR plus the emerging Miles Austin



5
Matt Schaub
Has the best WR in football to throw to



6
Tom Brady
Will not break records, but will continue to produce at a high level



7
Brett Favre
He's back...but he's missing his to WR Rice for 8 weeks



8
Philip Rivers
WR corps are a little depleted to start the year



9
Jay Cutler
Not a great start in Chicago last year



10
Kevin Kolb
Can he replace McNabb's production



11
Eli Manning
Expect more of the same



12
Joe Flacco
Boldin could provide a new threat.



13
Matt Ryan
 



14
Matthew Stafford
 



15
Donovan McNabb
 



16
Carson Palmer
 



17
Chad Henne
 



18
Ben Roethlisberger
 



19
Alex Smith
 



20
Vince Young
 



21
Matt Cassel
 



22
Matt Leinart
 



23
David Garrard
 



24
Matt Hasselbeck
 



25
Jason Campbell
 

ESPN Magazine Fantasy Football Issue

I'm just going through the latest issue of ESPN the Mag's fantasy football special. Here are a few interesting observations:

1. Adrian Peterson over Chris Johnson
2. Aaron Rogers is the top FF QB
3. After that there is a large group of QB's that have very similar rankings.
4. Maurice Jones-Drew and Reggie Bush are at the perfect RB age of 26 - which bodes well for a good season.
5. Its best to draft at the bookend - picks 1, 2, and 10 are the best statistically.

Fantasy Football 2009 Season

The 2009 Fantasy Football season is right around the corner. Stay tuned for new updates on 2009 fantasy football rankings for all positions, plus draft strategies, sleeper picks and more. NFL training camps begin starting July 25th.

Fantasy Football Draft Strategy - Getting Ready for D-Day

The NFL season is approaching fast and its time to solidify your draft strategy. If you go into the draft without a plan, there is a good chance that you will come out with a bad team. Here are some rules to keep in mind as you prepare for winning your fantasy football league.

1. Don't chase last years stars - Brady will have a great year, but he won't break the touchdown record again. Same for Randy Moss. Expect their stats to fall a bit and adjust your draft accordingly.
   
2. Play it safe in rounds 1 and 2. Get healthy guys that produce year after year.
   
3. Know your rosters and depth charts. They are easy to check at yahoo sports.
   
4. Spend time targeting players in the 6th, 7th, and 8th rounds. These can often be the players that make or break your team.
   
5. Look for good deals, but be careful not to risk too much. Hoping that Manning falls to the third round may cost you an elite QB.
   

NFC Sleeper Picks

CNNSI has released a list of NFC sleeper picks for the upcoming fantasy football season. Here are the winners from each team.

• Felix Jones, RB, Dallas Cowboys
• Ahmad Bradshaw, RB, NY Giants
• DeSean Jackson, WR, Philadelphia Eagles
• Jason Campbell, QB, Washington Redskins
• Devin Hester, WR, Chicago Bears
• Kevin Smith, RB, Detroit Lions
• James Jones, WR, Green Bay Packers
• Sidney Rice, WR, Minnesota Vikings
• Laurent Robinson, WR, Atlanta Falcons
• DeAngelo Williams, RB, Carolina Panthers
• Pierre Thomas, RB, New Orleans Saints
• Antonio Bryant, WR, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
• Tim Hightower, RB, Arizona Cardinals
• Antonio Pittman, RB, St. Louis Rams
• Josh Morgan, WR, San Francisco 49ers
• Maurice Morris, RB, Seattle Seahawks
  

Fantasy Football Player on the Rise

Jerricho Cotchery is moving up my list of fantasy wide receivers in the draft. He's had 82 catches in each of the last two years in an unstable quarterback situation.

Things are different now that Brett Favre is the QB. Favre is getting more comfortable in the Jets offense and Cotchery should be his #1 target. The only thing Cotchery has been missing in his game is more touchdowns, he only had 2 last year. That should change with the TD-happy Favre throwing at him. If you get Cotchery as your #2 wideout, you've done well this year.

Preseason Week 3 Notes

Here are some of the noteworthy fantasy football headlines from week 3 of the preseason.

• Kurt Warner named starting QB for the Arizona Cardinals. Warner passed for 27 TD's last season. He could be a great mid-round steal at quarterback this year.
  
• Rookie Matt Ryan is named starting QB for the Atlanta Falcons.
  
• Darren McFadden had 40 yards on 12 carries for the Raiders. I expect McFadden to get the bulk of the carries this year for Oakland.
• Favre went 9-of-12 for 96 yards for the Jets.
• Selvin Young started for the Broncos and ran for 42 yards on 6 carries.
  

Which Running Back will Get the Most Carries in 2008

The days of running backs receiving 400+ carries in a year appears to be over. These days, teams spread the carries around more to 2 or 3 running backs in order to keep everyone fresh. LaDainian Tomlinson led the league last year with 375 carries. The year before, 3 running backs had over 400 carries. Here is Yahoo sports projected top 10 in carries for 2008.

1 L. Tomlinson SD 395
2 Jamal Lewis CLE 350
3 Clinton Portis WAS 348
4 Marion Barber DAL 347
5 Brian Westbrook PHI 342
6 Marshawn Lynch BUF 340
7 Steven Jackson STL 336
8 Joseph Addai IND 331
9 Edgerrin James ARI 330
10 Ryan Grant GB 327
10 Frank Gore SF 327

Based on this list, you should be careful not to underrate guys like Jamal Lewis and Clinton Portis. Both had great years last year and should once again be league leaders in carries.

Fantasy Football Players with Dropping Value

As the preseason continues to unfold, certain players have moved down my list for various reasons. Here are some of the players I am currently down on.

• Chad Johnson - Injured shoulder and a bad attitude may prevent Chad from getting his numbers this year. Plus, the Bengals just re-signed Chris Henry.
  
• Ronnie Brown - May be traded and could lose time to Ricky Williams.
  
• Marc Bulger - St. Louis has lost 2 offensive lineman, don't expect him to last the season.
  
• Carson Palmer - The chemistry of the Bengals seems worse than ever.
  
• Steve Smith - Suspended for fighting. Could still get his numbers, but he is a risk.
  
• Larry Johnson - I just don't like the offense in KC this year.
  
• Earnest Graham - Just lost a key blocker this week.
  
• Ryan Grant - Aaron Rodgers is no Brett Favre. This will affect the GB running game.
  
• Brandon Marshall
  

Steven Jackson Will End his Holdout

For those of you still waiting for your NFL fantasy football draft, you can now put Steven Jackson back near the top of your running back board. Jackson has ended his holdout with the St. Louis Rams. Many sites rank Steven Jackson as high as #3 on the RB board. But the holdout has caused some reservations. Adding to the uncertainty, the Rams have lost 2 offensive lineman so far in the preseason.

Time will tell whether or not the offensive line is up to the task. But you can be certain that you are drafting a healthy and happy Steven Jackson now.

Rams Lose 2 Offensive Lineman - Proceed with Caution

The St. Louis Rams have lost two offensive lineman for the season. Mark Setterstrom and tackle Brandon Gorin both suffered preseason injuries that will force them to miss the remainder of the year.

QB Marc Bulger also took a hard hit and left the game early with a minor shoulder injury. The Rams have struggled lately with their offensive line, and losing two starters this early in the season does not bode well for them. If Marc Bulger gets beat up again this year, don't expect him to last through the season.

With Steven Jackson still holding out, the Rams offense is looking pretty shaky so far. I would proceed with caution in your fantasy draft with players like Steven Jackson, Marc Bulger, and Torry Holt. They still may produce this year, but it could be risky to take them too early.

The Talented Mr. Roto's 50 Facts

The Talented Mr. Roto has published 50 facts you need to know for the upcoming fantasy football season. Here are some highlights.

• David Garrard averaged15.4 fantasy points a game last year.
  
• Carson Palmer only had 5 touchdowns over the last 5 weeks last year.
  
• Kurt Warner led the NFL in touchdown passes in the final 8 games.
  
• Drew Brees was second in red zone attempts
• Brian Westbrook led the league in total yards from scrimmage.
  
• Joseph Addai was second in the league in goal line carries.
  
• Michael Turner has only 11 receptions in 4 years.
  
• Jerricho Cotchery has increased his yardage totals for 4 straight years....and Favre is now his quarterback.
  

Fantasy Football Training Camp Injury Report

Injuries are already beginning to affect the fantasy football season. Here are some early notables.

• Bobby Engram - Out 8 weeks with a cracked right shoulder.
  
• Ahman Green - Day to day with a groin injury.
• Antonio Gates - Yet to practice with a toe injury.
• Jerry Porter - Will not return before the season due to a hamstring.
• Plaxico Burress - Practiced in pads for the 1st time (ankle).
• Braylon Edwards - Slashed his heal on a cleat in practice. Out 2 preseason games.
• Deuce McAllister - Knee rehabilitation is going well. 1st start undetermined.
  
• Willis McGahee - Set to undergo arthroscopic surgery on his left knee - should return for regular season opener.
  
• Marvin Harrison - Knee seems to be healed.