We Talking Playoff's

AFC Wild Card

CIncy at Houston

Houston, we have a problem?  The Texans have gone from top spot in the AFC most of the year to a wild card berth.  The Texans have been underwhelming the last few weeks.  They don’t seem to have the heart to advance far in the playoffs.  Matt Schaub was hurt in last year’s playoffs limiting their chances.  It’s time for the quarterback to lead the team and dispel the recent naysayers. 

Bengal nation must be excited by a playoff game.  It’s been awhile.  Dalton and AJ Green are young talents.  The Bengals have had a good run but it ends here.  Too inexperienced, the bright lights will get to them. 

Look for Arian Foster along with a few big catches from Andre Johnson to lead the way as Houston wins by ten 

Indy at Balt

Has there been a better story that the Colts and Chuck Pagnano this year.  From two wins a season ago, behind a rookie quarterback and rookie/sick coach Indy has amazed all year.  Luck has been solid and is one of three rookie quarterbacks in the playoffs.  The youth movement this year in the NFL has been fun to watch. 

Baltimore behind the middling Joe Flacco has not lived up to expectations this year.  Ray Rice must have a huge game for the Ravens to win at home behind an aging defense.   

Look for this to be an ugly low scoring game Baltimore wins by four points. 

NFC Wild Card

Minn at GB

Minnesota won yesterday’s battle behind the league MVP, Adrian Peterson, and a raucous home crowd.  Peterson deserves the MVP over Manning for one reason: although both had horrible injuries to overcome Peterson’s was near record setting.  And without Harvin AP has no talent behind him.  There is no passing game in MInny, Ponder is young and unimpressive. 

The Packers have somehow remained in the mix all year.  I counted them out at the beginning of the year.  Rodgers keeps rolling along.  If the defense could ever perform at a high level a long playoff run would be possible. 

Minny will fall behind early, Ponder will throw a pick six early.  Over by halftime Packers win big. 

Sea at Wash

The Redskins have won seven in a row.  Last night Alfred Morris ran roughshod over the Cowboys giving its first division title in 13 years and a playoff berth.  RG3 still seems a bit hobbled by the knee but got the job done.  Have to credit the Shanahan coaching family tree for adjusting to the young offensive talent and putting formations in that utilize the talent of RG3.

Seahawk nation is led by Russel Wilson another rook qb.  Like the Skins the Hawks have had a shocking season.  Their defensive is explosive and Marshawn Lynch is a beast. 

This game should be a classic!  Almost too hard to pick.  The turnover battle will be won by Seattle going away and the Seattle will win by 3.   

Clips

The LA Clippers have now run off 17 wins in row.  What a breathtaking streak!  The streak has been fuelled by the bench.  Jamal Crawford appears headed for the 6^th man award, and makes the ridiculous crossover and step back three seem commonplace.  Eric Bledsoe, although a bit out of control of late, has quicks and is a defensive force.  Lamar Odom is coming into shape literally.  Odom is key for the Clips, they will need his late game prescience given Griffin’s and Jordan’s free throw woes.  How does an NBA player not keep in shape?  I don’t get Odom.  Barnes and Cutler are interchangeable and capable of big games now and again.  CP3 is having an MVP type season as expected. 

LA’s other team is flashy and fun to watch. They remind me of UNLV back in the day in NCAA early 90’s hoops. Are they better than OKC?  Standing wise at the moment, maybe, but I have my doubts as the season progresses.  San Antonio always goes on a streak.  Sure Memphis has fallen off, but they still are lurking.  At some point Vinny Del Negro will blow it and piss off some of his players. The number 2 seed in the West is attainable for sure.  Long term in the playoffs can the flashy roster succeed with two bigs who can’t play in crunch time?  Let’s not get overexcited and think the Clippers are title contenders.

Raps Sinking?

Raps sinking early in the big easy. How is Ryan Anderson not starting for the Hornets? Robyn Sideshow Lopez has his spot until Davis puts on some lbs and can play the 5.

Glimpses?

               Ahhh, yes!  Christmas brought all tidings and good cheer.  Hope everyone was spoiled!  The NBA fan was delighted on Christmas day with five games.  It was hard to juggle the games, family, and food.  I caught a bit of three games. 

                Boston stomped on Brooklyn winning with ease.  Boston has looked legit for moments this year.  Unfortunately, due to age Pierce and Garnett can’t perform at a high level.  Rondo has not had the MVP type season I thought he would.  Green has had spurts of great ball but consistency is an issue.  The wait for Avery Bradley might be over soon.  Hopefully, he can a la Eric Bledsoe infuse some energy in this team.  Brooklyn has struggled of late.  Deron Williams is whining about something seemingly everyday.  Humphries is in the doghouse for poor defense.  Things are falling apart with the Nets.  It is not a surprise given the roster’s weakness in character and defense. 

                The Lakers are back!  At least for one day, they beat the Knicks.  With Nash’s return the taste of what could be with Los Angeles is enthralling.  The bigs rolling to the hoop with a driving Nash is classic basketball.  Kobe is still gonna get his.  Artest has been a competent shooter this season.  However, given the age issues the Lakers can’t seem to sustain or string victories together.  Witness: last nights loss in Denver.  The Knicks continued their impressive play.  At this point Melo has to be the MVP of the season.  Amare should be back soon.  We all have been waiting for Knickerbockers to crumble.  Amare should tilt the chemistry a bit but will the other vets (Kidd, Thomas, Camby) allow it to get out of hand?  Mike Woodson seems to be a good coach.  Remember this turnaround started last season when he replaced D’antoni. 

                JR Smith’s game winner versus Phoenix last night was money.  Talk about living up to your potential and turning around a career.  If it were not for Crawford on the Clippers Smith would be the runaway leader for the 6^th man. 

                Toronto lost last night to San Antonio snapping a five game win streak.  5 games in a row!  It was great to see the Raps turn it around for a spell.  Of course the run came with the two most selfish Dinos out with injuries.(Bargnani and Lowry)  The ball zipped around during  the streak and the extra pass to an open teammate became commonplace.  Ed Davis seems to have a place in the league.  Terrence Ross has shown flashes of brilliance in addition to being a ridiculous in game dunker.  Calderon has improved his trade value.  Alan Anderson is a solid pro.  Unfortunately the Lithuanian rookie center is out for a bit with hand issues but this will only give Ed Davis more minutes to show his wares.  Colangelo in all of this has probably been given a reprieve by the owners, too bad, he and Bargnani need to be gone for the franchise to turn around. 

East Powers

1.        Miami- Ugh begrudgingly!  Title hangover.

2.       New York- Issues ahead?

3.       Atlanta- Sneaky good. 

The rest of the mess-  Bos, Chi, Ind, Phi, Brok, Mil

West Powers

1.       OKC- Undisputed in the West

2.       LAC- Is this deep team for real?  14 in a row.

3.       San Anonio- Hail to Popovich

The rest of the mess- Memph, GS, Den, Utah, LAL, Min, Hou, Dal

The last ¾ of the season in the East ans West is going to be extraordinary.  Who will make the runs? And who is gonna fall off.  Solid hoops ahead! 

Are the Celtics and Lakers capable of contending this year?  Or are the recent flashes of brilliance from the squads just isolated events?  Experience has to count for something.  Look for these two teams to make runs for the rest of the season and have us all far too optimistic heading into the playoffs.  

Bandwagons

Well then!  The Heat have been toppled a few times in the past two weeks.  Last night the Warriors topped them on a great last second feed from Jarret Jack to Draymond Green.  Green earlier in the game talked junk with Lebron.  All in all it was an entertaining battle.  The Warriors are on a roll, winning five in a row on the road, with a 15 and 7 overall record.  Bandwagon time. 

Golden State is a good team with depth in the wing position.  Thompson and Curry are elite players.  Coach Mark Jackson will have them playing a bit more defense than we are used to from the Warriors.  Inspired ball!  They should make the playoffs. 

Boston finally beat Dallas in two overtimes.  If Jeff Green can play at a high level consistently the Celtics perhaps regain some of last year’s form.  Avery Bradley is sorely missed on the defensive end and Paul Pierce seems to be fading into his twilight years.  Jason Terry seems to be finding his stride.

Brooklyn is fading without Brook Lopez.    

Miami hasn’t turned it on in the East.  Yet!  The Knicks seem to have passed Boston for the main contender to the Heat in the East.  Melo is in beast mode and looks like an MVP.  Even JR Smith is playing smart ball passing up the usual junk shots he would take in previous years.  Jason Kidd has been solid and has prolonged his career with his smarts and astonishing three point shooting.  It always helps to add something to your game. 

Out West the Clippers continue to roll.  Their bench is simply astonishing.  Eric Bledsoe is an athletic freak.  I don’t remember noticing his athleticism at Kentucky.  Lamar Odom is losing the weight and might be a factor later in the year. 

Lakerland is swirling.  With disgust.  How are they losing these games to mediocre teams?  Lack of effort and atrocious defense are the main issues.  Kobe is already steaming.  Thing is they are already going to be way off the leaders by the new year when everyone is back.  Los Angeles is looking at the number 5 seed as being their ceiling this year.  Onto next year boys. 

Kevin Love is voicing his displeasure with Minnesota management.  Why now?  I have no clue, Rubio is back this week, and then things might start rolling.  Love feels punked and I get it if what he says happened is correct but Kevin needs to handle himself with some class.  Rise above or Minny fans will turn on you. 

The Raptors are now 4-19.  I was hoping for a 10-13 start and a shot at the playoffs.  Barnagni thankfully is hurt.  Just amnesty him already.  The Bargs injury gives Ed Davis a chance to showcase his talents.  So far he has looked pretty good.  Terrence Ross looks like a super dunker, wow, two nice ones last night versus the Brooklyn.  Ross needs to mature and redevelop confidence in his shot.  Valanciunas looks like a legitimate center.  Time to develop the kids.  Hopefully the Raptors start to trade the older players on the roster.  Colangelo is an ass, blaming the Raps problems on focus and not talent, trying to save his job.  Raptorland is burning, this would have been the perfect year with no NHL to capture Toronto’s and Canada’s attention.  But no the chiefs are still in place.  Time to tear it up MLSE. 

Pigskin Dreaming

CFB

Can’t wait for the BCS championship game, it will be exciting to see two storied programs face of in Miami.  Alabama has the experience and depth of talent.  Will the luck continue to carry Notre Dame?  The Irish defense should be able to contain Lacy and Yeldon.  The concern is the young secondary.  Yet Bama doesn’t seem to have great playmakers at receiver.  The game will come down to McCarron against Golston.  Who will make more plays? 

The Heisman went to the freshman wunderkid Johnny Football.  I would have loved to see Teo win it but at least he was a finalist after a special season.  What interests me more is where does Manzell’s career go from here?  Is it headed to Tebow territory?  Does the success go to his head and does he flame out? 

TEAM GAGAN

The squad went on a five game win streak to sneak into the #4 spot in the playoffs.  Exciting times.  We will lose this week but it looks like the margin of defeat will not leave us out of contention.  Gotta love the two week matchups.  A surprising run given the injuries: Gronk and MJD.  This upcoming week will be tough given the health issues surrounding RG3 and Bradshaw.  Keep hope alive! 

Week Fourteen

Important.  Big time games yesterday.  Mostly in the NFC East.

NFC East:  Things were looking very shaky yesterday for the Giants at around 4pm.  Dallas came back on Cincy and won on a late field goal.  It is incredible that the Boys are 7-6.  Solid win for the team in the wake of an emotional weekend with the loss of Jerry Brown, they played hard and didn’t blow the game.  I can’t believe this team is still in it.  Washington came back late and won versus the Raven’s.  RG3’s injury was gruesome.  Did you see that leg whip and then get crushed by the defender?  Somehow Kirk Cousins came in and got the job done, throwing for a last minute touchdown and getting the two point conversion to send the game into overtime.  RG3 is lucky to have only suffered a grade one knee sprain.  These two early game victories left the Giants with a must win situation against New Orleans at home.  The men in blue got it done late in blowing out the Saints.  David Wilson was a pleasant surprise on the ground and in the return game.  Bradshaw is oft injured and hobbling.  Could Wilson be both the long term and short term solution?  Manning was productive yet threw some lazy/troublesome picks.  The Giants maintained their one game lead in the division.   I think the Giants will win the division by default after a very inconsistent lackluster season. 

Atlanta is who we all thought they were.  Headed for the December swoon, losing to an awful Carolina team is inexcusable. 

Chicago is fading fast. 

Ditto for Tampa. 

San Francisco and Seattle are playing strong and appear to be the class of the conference at this point. 

Harbaugh going with Kapernick is a bold move.  The Niners should they have home field are in the drivers seat unless Russel Wilson pulls off a miracle.  It would seem the NFC Super Bowl representative will be one of these two or a Packers team that is quietly gaining momentum. 

AFC

Great matchup tonight as the Texans take on the Patriots in New England.  The class of the AFC?  Each team needs to make a statement tonight to solidify their claim to being the conference favorite.  I cannot wait for the overreaction tomorrow from the media.  The loser will be forgotten and the winner ordained.  Ought to be interesting. 

Denver seems to be the other AFC contender in addition to the two above mentioned teams.  Manning is on a roll and looks like himself again.  The defense is solid and Von Miller is a freak. 

Baltimore and Pittsburgh looked unsteady yesterday.  The Ravens axed their offensive coordinator today.  Joe Flacco is not a difference maker or a winner.  Rothlesberger is recovering on the field it seems.  Losing to the Chargers was brutal.  Both teams have playoff experience but they seem to be out of the title race given their rocky seasons. 

The Colts have been the true shocker all year long.  The emotional win for Chuck mentality has been a sight to behold.  If it were not for RG3, Luck would be getting much more attention.  Look at their record.  Unreal compared to last years.  Looks like the Colts will make the playoffs, have a very hyped matchup in Denver versus Manning, and bow out with inexperience.  

Big Boy Pants

Some great games last night and here is what I saw.

Lakers- This team is in trouble.  Up 17 on the Rockets and they lose the game.  Besides my growing admiration for everyone on Houston not named Jeremy Lin, I noticed the footspeed issue with Los Angeles.  Pau and World Peace are not geared to D’antoni’s system.  Sure Jamison and Meeks will put up some numbers off the bench but the roster is not there for 7 seconds or less basketball.  How does the system even utilize Howard and why was he kept on the floor during hack a Dwight time?  The Lakers aren’t even top four in the west.  They can’t keep up with Memphis, San Antonio, Oklahoma City, and the Clips.  Nash should improve things a bit in terms of moving the ball but seems like the year is already over for the Lakes.  Locking them into a four or five seed, and that is about it.  Pau needs to be dealt soon because the guy has been the lightning rod for all of LA’s problems for too long now.  Everyone one has turned on him, even the head narcissist, Kobe.  Will Howard even want to re-sign in LA after this season? 

OKC/Brooklyn- Props to the Nets for making this game interesting at the end and coming back.  They were shorthanded, without Lopez.  This team has surprised me, winning in Boston last week, and Joe Johnson seems to have found his swagger.  OKC is the class of the west again.  Kevin Martin is beginning to answer the Harden questions.  Sure he doesn’t create for others but he knocks down shots.  The Thunders title hopes will rest on the development of Ibaka.  Offensively he showed some nice moves last night.  I do think the Thunder could use another productive big.  Perkins and Collison are not enough. 

Memphis- Zach Randolph was huge with 38-22 versus the Suns. Love his non-aerial dance in the post. Impressive comeback win for the Grizz.  Sure they played down to their competition but they turned it on when needed. 

CHI/IND- Great play by Hibbert at the end, smartly jumping straight up and not being called for a foul.  George seems to be really producing in spurts.  The Pacers are playing better ball.  Chicago keeps on keeping on with defense and great play from Noah.  Here’s hoping good health and a return for Rose.  The game really needs him.  Sorely missed. 

Miami- Triple double for Lebron in a loss to the Wizards.  Losing to the worst team in the league was brutal.  Jordan Crawford is a bit of a vacuum/black hole player.  Time for the Heat to turn it on, hopefully the loss will be a catalyst. 

My Teams

Boston- Rondo showed some heart last week in the Humphries duel.  I loved the little guy sticking up for his teammate.  The entire team now needs to take his lead, toughen up and start winning games Celtic style. 

Toronto- Showed heart in coming back and almost winning in Denver.  Kyle Lowry, who has not been the same since his injury,  displayed a bit of the spark he was hired for.  Loved the lineup of athletes around Bargnani at the end versus the Nugs.  Ross has shown some glimpses as has Davis.  Start developing the youngems Dino’s.  The signing of Pietrus is classic Colangleo.  Bryan won’t leave his comfort zone with players.  The hack needs to stay out of the playing time decisions and the lockeroom. Barg needs to be dealt and Colangelo axed.  

Last Night

Fourteen games one night.  Incredible.
Hibbert, big man triple double, and George, 37 points, were huge for the Pacers.
The Heat escaped versus the Bucks thanks to Lebron.
Okc ensnared Chris Paul and beat the Clippers.  A classic push back game.  The Thunder aren't going anywhere.
The hapless Wizards lost to the Hawks in OT.  Brutal split second disallowed put back from Martell Webster.  Josh Smith had a monster night for the Hawks.
San Antonio was solid in dispatching the unimpressive Celtics.  Rondo's MVP'ish play and double figure assist streak continued with 22pts and 15ast.
Lakerland is smarting after a double digit loss to the Kings.
Toronto fumbled away another one to Charlotte.  The anti-closer Raptors are infuriating me.
Kevin Love shoved everyone returning to the court weeks before expected and put up 27pts and 12reb in a loss at home to Denver.  It is great to see the best power forward back on the court.
Courtsurfing last night was a true delight as multiple games went to overtime and several players had big big big time games.  The NBA pulsed last night.  Wowza, if only the ball was that good each night!

Full NBA Slate Tonight

Beyond hoping to catch up and overtake in fantasy, tonight should be interesting.  There is an astounding 14 games tonight.  Let's break em down.

Tor/Cha= The Bobcats have a mind boggling 5 wins.  Are Kemba and the Cats a mirage?  Toronto has been brutal this year, leading games early, and finding ways to lose.  Lowry is back.  Will this have an effect and when should Bargnani, Casey or Colangelo be shown the door?

Det/Orl= Yawn

Phi/Cle= Kyrie is hurt, a big blow to the franchise. Can Waiters step up?  The Sixers are winning behind the coaching savy  of Collins and all-star play from Holliday.

Ind/No= Are the Pacers really this bad?  Has Hibbert decided to check in?  Davis has been brilliant but seems a bit injury prone.

Sa/Bos=  Great matchup.  The Spurs keep trucking.  Can the Celts put it together in a showcase game?

Wash/Atl=  How bad can the Wiz be?  Josh Smith needs to turn it on.

Mil/Mian=  Wow, the Bucks are 6-3.  Small chuckers delight!  Miami matches well.

Lac/Okc=  Game of the night.  Seems Clips are up and coming and the Thunder have lost their luster.

Chi/Hou=  Middling teams.

Den/Min=  The Nugs haven't met expectations thus far.  The Wolves have hung in without their stars.

Ny/Dal=  The Knicks are still winning.  When will they return to earth?

Por/Pho=  The Blazers might contend for a the 8th seed in the west.  Phoenix is Nashless.

Lal/Sac=  Game two for D'antoni and the Lakers are piling on the wins after an atrocious start.  When do the Kings blow it up?  Again?

Bro/Gs=  Curry!  Swollen ankles!  Hope the Nets start losing games.

Foooball

Yesterday was supposed to be a quiet day in college football.  That all changed at about 11:30pm.  WOWZA!  Don't think many saw this coming.  Both numbers 1 and 2 lost.  Baylor downed Kansas State and Stanford topped Oregon.  Who needs RG3 or Luck?  Their replacements led impressive upsets of the top teams.  The Stanford D help up against a bumbling all flash Ducks offense.  The Bears steamrolled Colin Klein putting up 52 on the vaunted QB and defense.
So the BCS will change at the top.  My Golden Domer's will claim the top spot.  Notre Dame needs to win against USC, who looked horrendous in losing to UCLA, to advance to Miami for the championship game.  What a year for the Irish.  That is it.  I will no longer jinx the run.
The unfortunate part of yesterdays losses is the SEC teams now move up.  Alabama and Georgia move to 2 and 3 in all likelihood.  The winner of Alabama/Georgia reserves the other place in Miami.  Got it?  Hmm.  Not really.  I can't believe the SEC is back in it.  The BCS seems to disqualify whoever lost last.
Imagine if everyone has 1 loss come selection time for the Championship.  The Sec one loss team will make it versus Oregon or Kansas State.  Let's hope it that never happens!
At least Brian Kelly doesn't have to go one Oprah to espouse the merits of Notre Dame.  Destiny is in their hands!

The NFL became the injured quarterback league last week.  The Steelers looked strong, then Rothlesberger goes down with a rib that might puncture a aorta.  Yikes.  Cutler, Smith, and Vick are all on the sidelines.
Atlanta took the loss last week and appears headed for a carbon copy season.  Regular season success and failure in the playoffs.
New England is fixless in Foxborough.  Closing and the secondary are still issues.  Will Talib have an impact at CB?
Will the Giants recover next week after a bye?
Houston and Chicago both appear to be favorites at this point in the AFC and NFC.
I am interested to see how Denver looks on defense.
What team or teams will make a late season run into playoff or title contention?  Tampa?  Indy?  Dallas?
Finding out should be a pleasure and the push to January starts today.

FYI, Team Gagan is making a playoff push in fantasy football.  Won two in a row to move to 5-5.  Looks like I will need to win out (next 3) to make it.  Very happy Bradshaw and Nicks are on the bye this week.  Luck or RG3 is an issue.  Going with RG3 after a bye, healthy and refocused?  Team Gagan appears to be heavily favored today.  Lets keep it rolling team!

Two Things

1.  The Marlins are shipping all their contracts  (Reyes, Johhnson, Buerhle)  and value players to the Blue Jays for prospects.  Ten cents on the dollar.  Incredible, a year after being big spenders and opening a new ballpark Miami has gutted the franchise.  What a difference a year makes!  Jeffrey Loira is up to this old tricks again.  Long live baseball in Montreal right.  A brilliantly evil business mind has screwed over the populace of South Florida.  Toronto with Johnson and Buerhle in the rotation and Reyes in the lineup becomes a contender in the AL East.  Boston and New York are on the downswing.  Love the Jays young GM for this one.  

2.  Royce White of anxiety disorder fame is at odds with the Houston Rockets.  White, who hasn't played this season, has been a no show at recent games and practices.  Awaiting White is a stint in the NBDL.  Both sides are at odds over his treatment?  It seemed as though the Rockets were willing to adapt to him, yet both sides are sniping back and forth.  This has become a perplexing saga.  Who is at fault and is the relationship between the two parties nearing an end?  Royce never missed a game at Iowa State despite his mental illness.  He is a top tier talent and it is a shame to see these issues affecting his career.  His illness is most prevalent at times of change and beginning an NBA career certainly qualifies.  I hope it works out for Royce in the end.  

Thanks Mr. Carter

Years ago a young basketball star decided to attended his college graduation on a game day.  No big deal.  Right?  His pro team the Raptors was a win away from the Eastern Conference Finals.  The media storm following his last second shot miss versus the Sixers that night was immense.  Since that moment the Raptors have been cursed.
Stars left town, McGrady and Carter. and professional basketball in Toronto has never recovered.

Witness last nights triple overtime loss to the Utah Jazz.  As a longtime Red Sox fan I was reminded of the pre 2004 years.  Closing games and some bad luck have become issues for the dinos.
Al Jefferson hits a three to send the game to overtime.  The guy had hit two three pointers his entire career.  Two!  Paranormal.
Demar Derozean was huge scoring 37 for the Raps.  Suddenly thrust into the closer role with his strong play he attempted an indescribable array of twirls and fades in a last second shot attempt to win the game as the first overtime closed.  Dermar!  Act like you've been there before.
The officiating also was atrocious.  Toronto never seems to get calls.  The persistent referee bias against the dinos leaves a molested core of Bargnani and Derozean with hands up in disbelief in the lack of calls.
The roster is devoid of a true star which is a prerequisite in today's NBA.  For whatever reason the Raps cannot attract star power.  So they end up acquiring good players through trades.
Luck has also shown on the injury front.  Kyle Lowry has been sorely missed the past few games.  Fields and Anderson are missed as well for the intangibles.
The overarching concern is that games are still not closed by Toronto.  Their record is 1-6.  They could easily be 3-4.  Opening night against the Pacers and the lack of desire to shut down David West was an wasted win.  Last night should've been another W, the game was bumbled away with late turnovers.  A push to win versus Phillly and Dallas was lacking after horrid early play.

Luck has been an issue for sure and maybe there is a Carter curse but in the end little has changed in DinoLand.

D'antoni and the week that was

Today the Lakers found their new coach.  Mike D'antoni.  The move shocked the world as something seemed to be worked out with the Zen master.  In the end it appears that Phil Jackson wanted to much power within the organization for the liking of the Buss son who runs the Lakers at this point.  So now what? By all appearances the move should benefit Kobe, who has a man crush on D'antoni, and the rest of the stars.  Nash, when he returns, should benefit.  Howard is excellent in the pick and roll system.  Gasol should be able to pick and pop.  Dwight and Nash should definitely flourish.  The uptempo system fits the LA persona as well.  Meeks and Jamison will be key of the bench, they must produce.  We will see.  Lots of pundits have downplayed D'antoni's image as a poor defensive coach.  In the end the playoffs will tell the story with this move.  Defense wins titles.

Week Two

Western Conference

Memphis:  Off to a great start.  Zach Randolph is already piling up the double doubles.   Routed the Heat last night.
Utah:  Impressed with the frontcourt depth: Favors, Milsap, Jefferson, and Kanter.  Look for one of these guys to be traded as Mo Williams at the point looks messy.
Clippers: Keep on rollin.  CP3 is the best point in the league.
Houston:  Harden has fallen back to earth and has too much of the create for everyone problem on his shoulders.  Linsanity appears to be a 26 game NY thing.

Eastern Conference

Knicks:  I am shocked at this.  Wow!  Melo has been a hustler diving into the stands for balls.  JR Smith has played within himself.  The retirement home bench players have produced.  The Knicks should fall back to earth and what happens when Stoudemire comes back and wants touches.  Bad chemistry coming.
Celtics:  Mmm.  Very uneven play.  The big three have done well but the bench hasn't come into form.
Sixers:  Another shocker.  Hanging in there without Bynum.
Pacers:  Granger out three months.  Hill has been great at the point.  Playoffs?  No
Chicago:  Keeping pace as predicted.
Miami:  Can't believe they have two losses.  From what I've seen they look unbeatable when they share the ball and plug in on the defense.
Toronto:  Lowry, how we've missed ya.  Saturdays 7-32 second quarter was the worst pro ball I've ever seen.  The passive shoot first play from Bargnai hinders this team.  Derozean has impressed yet still is a bit uneven.  Valenciunas is a keeper.  Half of the roster belongs overseas.  Fire the GM.

NFL Week 10 Early Returns

Atlanta finally lost one.  The 1972 Dolphins remain the only undefeated team in NFL history.  The Falcons might have had the top record in the league but this team is all flash and no substance.  Matt Ryan is great and the receiving core is immense but defense wins championships. The NFC title game is probably the ceiling for this team.
The New York Football Giants looked awful against the Bengals.  Eli Manning was a mess.  Bradshaw was benched after two costly fumbles.  The defense couldn't stop Dalton and the quick strike passing game.  Over the last few weeks the Giants have hardly looked like a contender. Hopefully, next weeks bye is used wisely by the G-Men.  Regroup, scream, and heal.  It was a sad afternoon as the Giants D/St, Nicks, and Bradshaw did nothing for me in fantasy.
New England won another suspect game.  Again the Bills were not put away and came back to make things interesting at the end until McCourty intercepted a Fitzpatrick pass in the end zone.  The two major concerns with the Pats have been putting teams away and the defensive backfield.  I have seen little improvement in either area.  The Pats will make the playoffs but will be lucky to win one.
Team Gagan is at 4-5 and desperately needs a win to contend for the playoffs.  Lynch, the 49ers, and Miller are still in play for my opponent.  Before the late games my lead is 23 points and my week is played out.  Its going to take a miracle for me to win this week.  Fantasy football has become a depressing thing, all the injuries, the horrendous performances, and the heroics from guys on the bench have taken their toll.  I'd rather not go through it anymore every Sunday.
At least the games have been great and tonight's Bears/Texans game looks like a Super Bowl preview.

SEC curse broken?

I hope so. Please. Please. Please, two of the three major, either Notre Dame, Kansas State or Oregon remain unbeaten.  I am so tired of the SEC bias by the CFB world.  If a one loss SEC team makes the championship game I will lose it.
Bama fell.  Woot!  Johnny "football" Manzell led the Aggies past the Tide.  This leads me to believe that even had the Tide remained unbeaten given the similar styles of play Oregon would have beaten Alabama in a possible title game. Saban would have had a month to prepare though.  Well hopefully we wont have to answer that one.
Some big games on the horizon.  Notre Dame v USC.  Oregon and K State must finish up the regular season and then win conference championship games to remain unbeaten.
Things just got wonderful iin college footballl land.

Laker Land

So long Mike Brown.  On Friday the Lakers coach was axed.  Holy panic move Batman.  Incredible.  He should have been given 20 games to figure it out.  That was not the case.  After a 1 and 4 start the coach had to go.  Kobe aside from the death stare at Mike Brown in Utah must have said something to management.  I guess the move reinforces that the window for the Lakers to contend and win another championship is very short.  Two years.
The main issue with the Lakers is footspeed.  The starters are old(kobe and nash) or big men.(howard and gasol)  Not exactly a unit that fits in with today"s fast paced game.  However, with the right coaching the Lakers can figure it out.
Bench play has also killed the Lakers.  Again the bench can become useful with more time and coaching.
The Princeton offense was a joke.  There is no need to have four future hall of famer's running around thinking too much about the correct play.  For the most part leave them alone and let them play their games.  Brown didn't deserve to be fired so early in the season but this offense was lunacy.  I would argue that the offense could be formulated by the players themselves given their experience.
What's next?  The Lakers are currently talking with Phil Jackson and Mike D'antoni.  Phil seems like a wiser pick should something be worked out.  Apparently he wants more control than his last time in LA given the issues he had with the Buss son.  Phil would like travel restrictions for himself regarding road games and his successor in place.  Look for Brian Shaw to fill this role.  The sides are in talks.  D'antoni seems a poor fit to me.  His uptempo style seems wiser for younger legs than the Lakers have.  Plus the guy can't spell defense.  I really hope something is worked out with Phil.  The triangle would work with the superstars and he is the Zen master.
On Friday the Lakers came out and throttled the Warriors.  It was easy to predict.  They played a self proclaimed playground style.  The classic " we are free, it was the coaches fault " game.  I had a weird feeling as a long time Laker hater Celtics fan.  I was rooting secretly for the Lakers to perform.  I reasoned it out to always wanting to see your rival perform.  The top tier teams are useless unless they are at their best.  The NBA landscape will be great if the Lakers get into contention mode.

Association Conclusions After A Couple of Games

Great to have the NBA back.  What a week of story lines.  The Beard going beserk for the Rockets averaging 41 points a game so far.  The Lakers are 0-3.  Toronto inexplicably signing Derozan to an extension.  Charlotte besting the Pacers to start the season 1-0.  The Celtics starting 0-2.  Big Baby throwing in 29 in a win over the winless Nuggets.  So what can we draw on from the first few games of the season?

Nothing.  Absolutely nothing.

Will Harden lead the league in scoring?  Probably not but he definitely is out to prove he is a #1 option on a team after his controversial trade from OKC.  Look for Harden to be a top 10 scorer this year for the Rockets.

The Lakers have looked awful so far losing their first three games.  They fell to Dallas, Eddy Curry plays for the Mavs, enough said.  Portland also beat the Lakers.   The Blazers are talented and a team to watch for this year.  Liliard is a scoring blur at the point guard position and should push for rookie of the year.  Mathews, Batum, and Aldrige are all young and solid players.  Last night the Lakers loss to their rivals the Clippers.  They looked slow and unable to overcome a large lead because of their age and pace of play.  Kobe had to take over and scored 40 points.  There has been lots of gesticulating and finer pointing on the court from the Laker players.  Steve Nash is down with a leg injury and LA has no bench.  It is early and the panic over the Lakers start is hilarious to observe from afar.  How long until the Princeton offense is abandoned?  Will Mike Brown lose his job if this start continues for another month or so?

The Bobcats victory over the Pacers was a pleasure.  Charlotte is hapless team with little talent.   The delight from the players over the W was almost collegiate.  The Pacers will struggle without Danny Granger, they almost lost another nail biter to the Raptors in their first game.  Paul George has not made the leap to being an elite player after last years playoff struggles.

I expect the Celtics and Nuggets will start winning games and be among the top seeds in their conference.

The Raptors began the season with a last minute loss to the Pacers on Halloween.  JV was a pleasure to watch getting a double double in his first NBA game.  Lowry was ferocious.  Calderon was huge off the bench.  Bargnani got his points with a horrendous shooting percentage, ugh.  Derozean showed a willingness to go to the hole and take contact.  The other wings, Fields and Ross, however were atrocious.  Fields clunked his way through the game and Ross didn't seem ready for the bright lights of the league.  In the end if they had figured out how to stop David West the Raps should have won going away.  Things to look for as we go forward.   Who will produce on the perimeter and wing aside from Derozean?  How long before the high screen offense from JV and Bargs is neutralized and does a high low post with that pair take over?  When will Lowry flip out on some of his passive teammates?

With the advent of November came contract extensions for players on rookie deals. Harden got 5 years for 80 million.  It looks like the Beard will be worth every penny.  Steph Curry extended for 4 years and 44 million.  Health and staying on the court make me wary of this deal.  Lawson re-upped with the Nuggets for 4 years and 46 million.  Lawson is a top ten point guard and somehow the market values that salary for his production.  In a widely chastised move Bryan Colangelo resigned Demar Derozean for 4 years and 38 million. Stat geeks have continuously pounded the numbers and concluded that Derozean is not a below average.  So why did Colangelo handicap the Raptors financial flexibility by signing Derozean to an extension?  To validate the high pick spent on Derozean.  Colangelo outbid himself on this one.  It would have been better to wait out the season, see what the market is for Derozean, and what was on the market for the Raps.  Derozean is the Raptors #3 option behind Lowry and Bargnani.  Hopefully at 23 years old he continues to develop and proves us all wrong..  However, this all could have been taken care of in the offseason.

Looking forward to catching the Raptors game tonight versus the Nets.  Will the emotion of Superstorm Sandy and the regular season opening of the one billion dollar Barclay's Center be too much for the Raps to overcome?
I also will keep an eye on some CFB.  LSU and Alabama face off in an SEC tilt which is sure to be a boring defensive battle.  Out west Oregon faces their first true test against USC.  Some points will be put up in this one and I hope USC can hang in there and make this one close

Shocker

James Harden was traded to the Houston Rockets for Kevin Martin, Jeremy Lamb, and picks.  Wow!  No one aside from Jalen Rose saw this one coming.  Presti lowballed Harden offering him 4 years for 52 to 55 million.  In Houston Harden will get alot more money with no state taxes.  OKC is sticking to their team philosophy with this one.  Everyone must accept less dough to remain with the team.   Remember Jeff Green.

I applaud the Thunder sticking to their guns but short term their title hopes are taking a huge hit with this trade.  Harden was a major part of Thunder ball.  A rare talent he could score in bunches by taking the ball to the hole and had a nice jumper.  Team chemistry takes a hit with this deal as well.

Harden cant be blamed for not accepting a low offer.  This is a business.  The chance to be the man on another team is something he must have wanted on the other hand.  In the end given the OKC philosophy he had to know he was leaving at some point this year.

Long term the deal might work out for the Thunder.  Kevin Martin will replace some of what Harden provided this year, perhaps he stays long term.  Jeremy Lamb and Perry Jones 3 might develop into pieces on a title contender.  The draft picks also might pan out.

In the end the future will tell but the Thunders 2012-13 title aspirations took a huge hit with the Harden deal. Talent and chemistry are important.  Denver and the Lakers have to benefit from the deal.  It would not surprise me if the Thunder fell to the #2 or #3 seed in the Western Conference come playoff time.


Watched two CFB games yesterday.  The Florida/Georgia was atrocious with the Dawgs winning.  Penalties and horrendous offensive play created a disjointed affair.  The CBS SEC bias is also hard to listen to.  Boston College got its first ACC win of the year over Maryland.  Good to see that score on the ticker but its time to get rid of Spaz and redo the whole thing in Chesnut Hill.

The Notre Dame/Oklahoma game was a pleasure to watch.  I am an Irish homer and this one was a nail biter till the end.  I kept waiting for Golston to make the mistake that would cost the Irish the game but it never happened.  Coach Kelly has been brilliant with his young qb and the offence.  Golston has become a threat for the Irish and avoids mistakes.  He has matured.  The defense again was dominant when it counted. At the beginning I had my doubts about the bend but don't break philosophy but it was a great game plan as the D was able to stifle the Sooners in the red zone.  Blake Bell really got under my skin, scoring the first rushing td against the Irish all season.  Teo again was a force with a sack and a late interception that sealed the win.  He should be considered seriously for the Heisman.  A second place finish to Klein of KSU is not out of the question.

The Irish should be undefeated heading into their last game against USC.  I am shocked by the quick progress the Irish have made under Brian Kelly.  They are relevant again.

Western Conference

As always it seems the Western Conference is loaded.  Dwight and Nash have joined the Lakers.  The Thunder are young and salivating for another chance at the title.  Denver seems loaded like the late 90's Trailblazers.  San Antonio is still strong.

Here are the playoff teams an contenders:

1. OKC:  Durant will lead the league in scoring.  Westbrook is unguardable. Harden's contract will be resolved soon.  All the pieces of a title contender.
2.  Lakers:  LA certainly has the talent to make the Finals.  Dwight has alot to prove.  Nash and Pau should be a delight to watch.  How will Kobe co-exist with all the talent around him?  Is the bench good enough?
3.  Denver: Iggy is a great addition to this team.  His defense is stellar and he should thrive in the Nuggets transition game.  Lawson is blossoming.  Galinari is a shooter.  The Manimal!  Deep squad too many to name.  Wouldn't surprise me if they got the #2 seed.
4. San Antonio:  All the same pieces.  A full year of Diaw and Jackson will help.  No big man to play alongside Duncan.  Leonard is key.  Popovich will figure it out again and make us all look stupid.
5. Clippers:  Chris Paul is amazing.  Griffin is a highlight machine but he game is unpolished and I view him as overrated.  Still the roster is deep, Crawford, Hill, Billups, Odom, Bledsoe, and Jordan.  The vets will provide a good regular season record.
6.  Utah:  Love the frontcourt of Milsap, Favors, and Jefferson.  Hayward is solid and developing.  Mo and Marvin Williams should have "I'm pissed at my old team" seasons.  A surprise team?
7.  Memphis:  Z Bo and Gasol are solid.  Rudy Gay is soft as proved by last years playoffs.   I think the Grizzlies start to slide.
8.  New Orleans:  The shocker!  Monty Willliams is a great coach.  Eric Gordon returns and is elite.  Davis wins rookie of the year.  Miracles do happen.  Hey David Stern got them a great trade for Chris Paul and the #1 overall pick.

Contenders:

Timberwolves:  Very fortunate Rubio and Love are injured to begin the season.  Will be interesting to see how the once retired Roy performs.  The Russian wings?  Peckovic might have some skills.
Golden State:  Bogut is always injured, as is Curry  Klay Thompson scored alot of points when the team was tanking.
Dallas:  So long Dirk.  This team sucks.  Cuban really screwed up the last two summers in breaking up his championship team and accomplishing nothing is free agency.  Collison, Brand, Kaman, and Mayo are solid pros but nothing to get excited about.

The playoffs in the Western Conference should be very exciting.  Barring injury I look for the Lakers to figure out how to use all their new found wealth late and dominate.  I think its a draw between them and the Thunder for conference title.  Lakers in seven games.
A Lakers/Heat finals! Wow, should be awesome!

The Celtics and the East

I have the Celtics penciled in as the #2 seed in the Eastern Conference.  The additions of Terry and Lee should bolster the backcourt play.  Look for Lee to start with Terry providing scoring off the bench.  Jeff Green returns this year after health issues.  He can provide some scoring and defense.  Sullinger looks like a quality pick in last springs draft.  A smart player Sully might surprise.  Garnett and Pierce are still the core leaders of this team and despite their advanced ages they will continue to produce.  The Celtics will go as far as Rondo takes them.  He is a top five point guard in the league and I expect a big year from him as he makes a run to be mentioned in this years MVP debate.

Here are the other playoff teams and contenders from the East.
1. Miami:  Lebron has his ring and he will dominate once again.  Wade appears to be healthy and Bosh proved his value in last years Finals.  Now that Lebron will not be bogged down by playing a position the sky is the limit for the Heat's version of small ball.  Ray Allen left Boston because of his ego and will knock down some shots.  The Heat/Celtics matchups should be classic as these two teams do not like each other and Allen joining the Heat has only added to the rivalry.
2. Boston
3. Indiana:  The Pacers surprised everyone last year.  Now the team is marked and it will be interesting to see if they can perform like a season ago.  They put alot of faith is George Hill by trading Collison.  Will Paul George make the leap and become a star?
4. Chicago:  I'm sticking with the Bulls.  Rose will be back soon enough.  Great coaching and a system philosophy will carry them this year.  The bench mob is gone.
5. Atlanta:  Josh Smith and Horoford are a great front court.  Johnson and his contract are finally gone.  Teague, Harris, and Lou Williams will provide scoring and defense on the perimeter.
6. Brooklyn:  Looks good on paper.  Can't guard anyone.  They might impress during the season.  Will Deron Williams return to Utah form?
7.  Philadelphia:  Bynum is hurt.  Can he be a #1 on a team?  Nick Young cannot replace Lou Williams.  Will  the Sixers tire of Doug Collins.
8.  Knicks:  Camby, Thomas, Kidd, and Wallace are senior citizens.  Melo is a black hole.  Amare is hurt again.

Contenders
Milwaukee:  Will the Ellis and Jennings backcourt work?  Both guys are shot first guards.
Detroit:  Monroe is great.  Drummond had looked good.
Toronto:  Bunch of solid players and depth.
Washington:  All depends is Wall gets back soon enough.
Cleveland:  Probably not but Irving is a star.

Aside from Miami and Boston the East is wide open.  Indiana should be a lock.  Any of the other teams could really slide.  In the end the conference belongs to Miami with Boston giving another strong showing.  The Heat/Celtics battles should be epic.


Be back at you will the Western Conference.

Whoa

Correction:  New York is not a lock to make the playoffs,  put them in contention for the #8 seed, roster is aged, Melo is a black hole, Amare is hurtin

NBA Starts Up In Less Than A Week

Very excited for the Association to start up.  This year we will be treated to a full season with the strike of last fall behind us.  My teams are the Celtics and the Raptors.  Living in Canada I have become very interested in and follow the Toronto franchise closely.  The Raps are a team void of a true superstar but might be able to contend for the final playoff seed in the Eastern Conference this season.
Seems like Miami, Boston, Indiana, Brooklyn, Atlanta, Chicago, Philadelphia, and New York are givens to snatch the first 7 seeds.  That leaves Milwaukee, Toronto, Detroit, and possibly Cleveland to duke it out for the eight seed.
The preseason means nothing but I like what I've seen from the Raptors so far.
The starting five:
Lowry:  love the trade that brought him to Toronto,  a gritty defender, a true gamer, plays hard and is willing to take the big shot
DeRozean:  stats geeks are not in love with Demar, however he seems to have developed his game a bit,  he know goes to the rim looking for contact. he could surprise this year with his production
Fields:  overpaid perhaps, seem to be an intangible guy who makes the smart play, good defender
Bargnani:  has his limitations with rebounding and defense, a scorer
Valanciunas: impressed me so far with defense and rebounding,  can score, not polished, makes mistakes, hustles,  high potential
The Bench
Calderon: great backup point guard, possible trade bait later in the year
Lucas: another point guard, might be used at shooting guard because he can flat out score
Johnson: energy big man
Davis: make or break year for the former lottery pick
Anderson: serviceable
Ross:  the rookie lottery pick has been injured this pre-season, supposed to be good defender and shooter, will see how long it takes him to make the rotation
The Raps do not have a star but the roster is comprised of solid players.  Depth is also good with this team.  Casey is a defense first coach.  As long as the Raps can score, which they should be able to at this point with the depth they have, Toronto could get to about 38 to 40 wins.  That total might get them in the playoffs.  The ceiling for the squad is a poor mans version of last years Pacers.  A team with a bunch of solid players that overachieves.  What you say?  Yeah the analogy is a big reach.  The Raps don't have the talent of a Granger, George, or a Hibbert.  I did say poor mans version.
Hoops.  Love em and the boundless optimism that comes with every season till the results come in.
Next time I'll run down the Celtics.

Pigskins

The week that was.  Felt good to see Team Gagan get back on the winning side of the ledger.  Overall record is 3-4.  Had to sweat this one out as Maurice Jones-Drew injured is foot early against the Raiders.  Was a nail biter!  Held on for an 11 point victory.  Hopefully the wins keep coming.  Dropped Vick, useless turnover prone loser, pending the waiver wire.  Hoping to add Kerley from the Jets and the new Arizona running back.  Sending Pitta packing.
Umm, the Patriots are starting to really scare me.  Brady seems to have lost the charm.  They can't hold onto leads or close games.  They stop using Gronk and Welker for periods.  I don't get it.  I am starting to think the shine is gone and the er might be over.  They made Sanchez look capable in the win versus the Jets.  Yikes.  Thankfully there seems to be only one very good team, Houston, in the AFC.
I was very impressed with RG3.  The rookie Redskins, bad team name, quarterback looked stellar.  He is a flash with the ball and has an arm to match his foot speed.  The Giants defenders were gushing about him after the game.  The Skins outplayed the Gaints most of the game losing on a late Manning to Cruz hookup.  Griffin really has changed his teams fortunes as they are competitive in every game.  Can't wait for years of RG3 in the NFC East.
College football wise didn't watch much.  West Virginia is done after being trounced for a second week in a row by Kansas State.  Colin Klein appears to be the front runner for the Heisman.  Notre Dame rolled on with a tight win over BYU.  Boston College's season will mercifully end in November and I am interested to see who the next coach will be.
Very excited for this weeks Notre Dame/Oklahoma game on Saturday night.  Should be a good one.  ND needs to put up some points to keep up with the Sooners.  The Irish defense can't win every game for them.

Sox Sack Valentine and AL MVP

That was quick.  Bobby V was fired one day after the 2012 Red Sox ended the season with a 14-2 drubbing at the hands of the Yankees.  The move comes to the surprise of no one.  In fact the only reason he lasted the entire season was the owners let their egos get in the way.  It was a poor hire to begin with.  Chalk it right up there with the sell out streak and the big contracts thrown at players incapable of handling the market.  However, all the blame cannot be put on the owners or even Bobby V for this season.  The players have to perform and they did not.  They seemed to disagree with the hire from the get go and never were willing to buy in.
What's next?  I have no idea.  I kind of hope the owners sell the team and we get some new blood in.  Manager wise Farrell from Toronto should be a target.  Blue Jay nation won't be happy and have blocked previous attempts by the Sox.  It could be a dog fight if it's even possible.

The AL MVP should go to Miquel Cabreara.  End of story.  He propelled his team to the playoffs while winning the first triple crown in 45 freaking years.  A ridiculous season.  Unfortunately, the stat geeks have clouded the matter with praise for Mike Trout.  Trout has also had a stellar season.  He excels at defense and on the base paths.  He might have a high WAR.  Trout will win plenty of MVP's if he keeps it up.  The AL Rookie is all his this year.  The Angels did not make the playoffs.  This why the Detroit slugger wins the award.
Sabermatics are entertaining in a geeked  out way.  But apparently the RBI is now devalued?  Please.  Knocking runners in front of you and runners in scoring position is the definition of clutch.

Hibernation

Alright my forced exodus is over.  I have to come out of hiding.  Enough is enough.  Team Gagan has lost three in a row.  I will not dwell on the previous weeks but I am tired of losing.  Last week I lose because of RG3 caution and Aaron Rodgers goes insane for my opponent.  RG3 is concussed the week before so I sit him and start Andrew Luck last week.  Luck bombs versus the Jets and RG3 has a great game versus the Vikes.  I could have had a win if not for Rodgers throwing six scores against the Texans.  What's up with the Texans D?  Well the nucleus of RG3, MJD, Bradshaw, Gronk, Nicks, Jones, Moore, Bryant, and ATL D/ST are all in the lineup this weekend.  I need the W, my confidence is wandering like a Patriots corner.  Thomas from Denver is my only key player with a bye.  I need my WR's to produce, hopefully Hakeem NIcks is approaching full health.  Victory will be mine and I pledge from this point on to stay out of the way.

The Patriots reverted back to early season form in losing late to the Seahawks.  It was very disappointing.  Th offense could not seal the deal and put up so more points to cushion the lead.  The Pats are losing their luster.  Is the era coming to an end?
I mean we've only known the secondary is awful for five years now and nothing has been done to fix it.  Unbelievable, every time the ball was in the air late in the game I just knew a Seahawk would come down with it for a big play.
Could not find the Giants-Niners game on T.V. here.  Giants were very impressive from all accounts.

College football is heating up.  The SEC teams keep knocking eachother off week by week. West Virginia was upset.  If this holds up my Notre Dame fighting Irish might sneak into a major bowl.  The Irish defense was impressive in out smashing Stanford with an overtime goal line stand.  Offensive the Irish have a tight end and quality running backs.  Still undefeated.  Alabama, Florida, and Oregon seem to be the title contenders but for the Irish to be in a BCS bowl would be a major step in the right direction.

Rondo/Allen

What's the over/under on a Ray Allen Rajon Rondo dustup/skirmish this year?  I think it might happen.  Everyone has overvalued the class factor with Jesus Shuttlesworth, he has the look and plays the part of a GQ'ish hombre but last years feud with Rondo proves otherwise.  Rondo got the intern position with the magazine over the summer so perhaps he will take the high road when the Celtics and Heat tip off.  I doubt it.  KG has now involved himself in the fray, divulging that he and Allen no longer speak.  This could get interesting.  Expect at the minimum some long hard stares between the former backcourt mates.

NBA Media Day News

The Spurs are giving Eddy Curry a invite to training camp.  Um shocking move for the Spurs.  Guess they need an extra warm body in camp.  Is the D-League or China the next stop for Eddy?

Andrew Bynum took a trip to Germany.  Insert Kobe knee doctor voodoo pin here.  And the year long Bynum injury questions begin.  Wait till the Philly press starts to wonder aloud about his maturity and attitude.

John Wall is shelved for a month with a bum knee.  Hope for the Raptors.  Like the Wizards the Raps are eyeing the #8 seed in the Eastern Conference.  A slow start for the Wiz could help Canada's team.

Bryan Colangelo was not optimistic entering last season.  And now he is with more talent on the roster entering this year.  A little too forthright with last years opinions.  Did last year even need to be mentioned?  I give him some credit for bringing in some talent, Lowry, Fields, Ross, and McGuire but the poster child for nepotism needs to zip it sometimes.

Pats Win

The Patriots finally won today.  52-28 over the Bills.  It was much like a delightful chocolate covered almond.  Shiny and really good looking from the outside, the chocolate sure is tasty, yet, the almond aftertaste leaves something to be desired.  So is the story with the Pats from this afternoon.

Yummy:  The offense put it together in the 2nd half scoring 45 points.  This was something to see.  We appear to have a running game, words I thought I would never utter.  Bolden looked spectacular in gashing the Bills defense for over a hundred yards.  He showed some great speed and a nasty streak in his touchdown run.  Ridley also hit the century mark and continued his strong play.  Two running backs with over a hundred yards is a rare feat in the NFL.  Gronk reappeared after last weeks freeze out catching 5 for 104 yards and a score.  The offense was spectacular in quarters 3 and 4, hopefully they can keep it flowing. The defensive front seven was solid again.  Wilfork hit Jones into next week.  Brutal.

Ick:  Another slow start by the offense.  Fumbles.  Miscues.  To much Woodhead.  Is the unit still adjusting to McDaniels?  Or is he to blame for the mad scientist starts?  Although the Patriots had a late interception the secondary was again shredded.  Especially over the middle.  These areas need to be addressed because the schedule ahead looks tough starting next week with Denver.

Overall today was positive.  Questions abound in some areas.  The main thing to take out of the game is that the offense finally showed some killer instinct.  Brady in particular must be pleased with the running game and  showed some fire with his "f###k these b##ches" rant caught on camera.

Team Gagan News

Getting stomped so far this week.  Down 20 pts with a player to go for each team.  Will concede the loss.  Due to injuries put Moore in a wr opposite Thomas.  Had to start Pitta at flex.  He produced nil.  Everyone else had below to average games.  Thinking I need a new kicker, one not from the Titans, from a team that consistently puts up points.  Eyeing Bryant from the Falcons.  Also going to put in a claim on Hartline, had a huge day at wr for the Dolphins.  I am sure he will be claimed on the wire before me.  The win streak is over.  A sad day indeed.

College Football

BC hung in with Clemson for a bit.  In the end speed won out.  Impressed with the BC qb Rettig, he is putting up some stats this year.
Texas impressed with some late drives to win in Stillwater.
So tired of Big Ten football.  Please get those games off the air.
West Virginia won 70-63 over Baylor.  Are you kidding me?  Two receivers with over 300 yards.  Florence was unreal only outdone in terms of yardage and scores by Geno Smith.  Eight touchdowns for Smith.  Techmo Bowl.  It will be interesting to see what West Virginia does this week versus Texas, a team with a defense.
Geno Smith strikes me as an Andre Ware type.  A system quarterback.  It will be interesting to see his value come the NFL draft.  The Heisman appears to be his to lose.
Next week should be an exciting week.  South Carolina v. Georgia.  LSU v Florida.  WVU v. Texas.  Miami v. Notre Dame.  Once again the pretenders will be weeded out from the contenders.  Looking forward to it.

The Geriatric Knicks

The Knickerbockers announced Rasheed Wallace is joining the team for the upcoming NBA season.   The vociferous power forward has been retired for the past few years.  He has always been one of my favourites for many reasons.  No one chirps at officials or picks up hilarious t’s quite like Wallace.  He shoots the threes and defends well.  The guy has personality which is refreshing in these pc times.  All in all Rasheed on the Knicks should be entertaining and quoteworthy. 

However, from afar the move is hilarious.  The Knicks brass has to be kidding with the front court off season acquisitions, right?  These guys need canes. Kurt Thomas (40 by the start of the season) is a grandfathered onto the bench.  Marcus Camby (38) can still rebound and defend at an advanced age and now Wallace (38) is added to the mix.   

The Knicks second unit should be fun to watch this year and I am sure the MSG crowds will embrace them and the organization will never be accused of ageism at this point. 

Nonetheless file this move under, things that make you chuckle. 

College Football

Saturday Night was mind blowing.  Four great games on all at once.  Went and saw Trouble With the Curve at the movies and hurried home to catch some of the games.  FSU turned it on late to down Clemson.  The Seminoles seem legit after that win.  Or are they going to choke against a lesser opponent as they have for the last decade?  KSU beat the Sooners.  Didn't see enough of this one to gauge anything but as always the Sooners and Landry Jones are overrated and folded.  Oregon was impressive is shutting out Arizona.  LSU looked beatable versus Auburn.  Seems to be Alabama at the top with a slim chance of being challenged this year by Oregon or FSU in the title game.  Does feel good to know that the SEC has one dominant team and the others like Georgia and LSU should fall off before the season is out.
One of my teams Notre Dame won against Michigan.  The Irish appear to be turning things around under Brain Kelly.  They will not be a national title contender any time soon but things are on the upswing.  The talent and play of the defense and in particular the front seven are impressive.  Quarterback play is adequate with the developing platoon situation.  The running backs, Wood and Riddick, are strong.  A once daunting schedule seems less fierce with the struggles of Oklahoma and USC.  Who knows maybe this can be a two loss season.
Boston College is who I thought they were.  Yikes.  Not very good. Coach Spaziani is on the hot seat.  With the inability to recruit against the big boys of college football the Eagles can only hope to be relevant when a once in a decade player comes along like Matt Ryan.  That was a fun season!  Perhaps a new coach can turn things around.

GoldenGate N The Pigskin Week

Wow!  The final play of the Packers/Seahawks game was shocking to say the least.  A clear interception by Jennings was somehow awarded a Seattle touchdown by Golden Tate.  Farcical.  First of all Tate clearly pushes off, Jennings catches the ball, falls with possession, Tate wraps up Jennings and the ball, and two refs throw up contradictory calls.  Fine.  Horrendous.  Sent to review.  Result is a touchdown.  Seems like the zebras wanted to escape Seattle with their lives.  Absolutely insane.
I can't fault the stripes on this one.  These fellas are not qualified to officiate in the NFL.  The games are getting a bit painful to watch as the officials cannot keep up with the play.  Lost.  Dazed. Confused.  Thanks NFL.
What happens if the Packers miss the playoffs because of last nights loss?

Anyways on to my teams.  The Giants shocked me.  I thought this was a loss and a coming out party on national television for Cam Newton.  Roll New York.  Nicks and Bradshaw were easily replaced by capable backups and Cam Newton had a stinker displaying Cutleresque body language.  Looks like Newton is a bit overvalued but I did enjoy Steve Smith calling him out for his behaviour.

The Patriots raised lots of questions in their loss to the Ravens.  First of all props to Torey Smith for the a great performance in trying times following the loss of his brother.  Again the officiating was awful.  The field goal seemed good to me.  Enough about that, this was not a game the Pats should have lost.  Can the Pats still close out games?  The play calling?  Welker and Brady were had good games.  No calls for Gronkowski?  Best tight end in the league gets three targets.  I understand he needs to help out with the blocking against the Ravens.  Do we not have a blocking tight end on the roster?  The plethora of second half carries for Woodhead?  Still scratching my head over the blown lead.  The defense is also looking a bit suspect.  Corners that cant cover.  Seems familiar.  No pass rush either.  I mean Flacco floated a few throws in the fourth quarter and McCourty and Arrington couldn't make the plays.  The season is early, the losses could have easily been wins, the results are sure to improve, but I would like to see this team put it all together like I have grown accustomed to.

League super bowl contenders so far are as follows.
NFC: Giants(continue to plug in players and win), Niners(everyone can have a stinker), Packers(got robbed)
AFC: Patriots(only three games in), Ravens(all on Flacco), Texans(have a suspicion they win it all)
The Falcons are getting lots of love but I don't see it.  Produce in January.  Otherwise they still are the Charges of the NFC to me.

Finally and most importantly Team Gagan is on a streak.  Two in a row. Yup. Yup.  By three points. I was sweating this one out.  Got Lafell(a dud, thanks Cam Newton), Bush(ok performance), and Pitta(starting at the flex this week for sure) off waivers this week.  Lafell and Thomas produced zilch at the wr position.  Gronk was rendered invisible by the Pats offensive coordinator.  My opponent had Brady and I have Gronk.  Sunday night was a trip balancing my love for the Patriots with the goals of Team Gagan.  Had to wait out the Packers game on Monday night to see how Jennings did for my foe.  Thankfully he didn't blow up fantasywise and the W was mine. For this week I put in a claim for the Cardinals d/st,  these guys make plays and the Jets d/st will suffer without Revis.  Shonn Greene and Lafell are headed to the bench with Pitta and Moore taking their places.  Bush becomes a starting running back and should produce with Forte hurt.  Not sure whether to trust or start Nicks and Bradshaw coming off injuries this week.  Hard decisions, think Nicks would be a safer choice.  Hmm, probably should just leave things.  I would like to applaud myself for starting RG3 over Vick.  RG3 turned it on late, pleasing his owner, and Vick is a hit away from the sideline either through injury or benching.  Loving life, tied for the overall league lead.

The First W

TEAM GAGAN NEWS

How sweet it is.  Yeah baby.  Got the week 2 win.  Love it, what a feeling.  Amazeballs.  A five point win is a win.  Say it with me.
Just think it I had started RG3 over Vick, it would have been a 14pt victory. Think its time to start RG3.  This week Vick plays the Cardinals.  We all saw what the Cardinals did last weekend to the Patriots with their fast ball hawking defense.  Means turnovers for the Eagles.
Hit the waive wire hard this week.  Need to upgrade the bench for the bye weeks.  Gotta look ahead.  Put in claims for WR  Amendola on St. Louis (huge last week),  RB Bush on Chicago, and TE Pita  from Baltimore.  If i get them I am going to drop WR Moore, RB Jennings, and TE Cook.  This useless trio had their chance with Team Gagan but you gotta produce to remain on the roster.  Simply put this reactive owner  
expects fantasy output from each member of the team.
Thinking ahead to week three Bradshaw is hurt so he will have to come out of the lineup.  Shonn Greene will move into the starting RB role.  The flex position ideally will be filled by Amendola from St. Louis if my waiver claim is successful.

NO FUN LEAGUE

I have heard all the talk about Wes Welker's role in New England.  The coach and owner are tough steadfast men, it is their way or the highway.  Welker wants money.  Who can blame him?  It's time for the Pats to give him a bigger role in the offense.  Hernandez is hurt and Edleman is no Welker.  Throw him the damm ball and let him produce.  Whatever is going on now is to the detriment of the offense.  If next year you don't want to pay him that's fine, let him walk.  Use your weapon.
Week one went unexpectedly smooth with the officials.  This week was a disaster.  The integrity of the game is in question.  Games are slow.  Players have no respect for these referees.  Have you noticed the scraps and players not letting up with some of their hits?  This is all over billion dollar owners pitching in a million to bring the regular officials back.  Come on.  Its an absurd situation, the scab officials look out of place and intimidated by the bright lights.  Yet again the owner and commissioner come off looking like buffoons with this.
On the subject of buffoonery the affidavit from Gregg Williams was well timed.  Funnily signed sealed and delivered days after a judged ruled in some manner way beyond my legalese against the player suspensions resulting from bounty gate.  Williams sure comes off like a heck of a fella on this one.  Be interesting to see when he gets hired again after throwing everyone under the bus.  Though tire marked Vilma will fight his fight and should be lauded for doing so.  The commissioner has come off like a dictator with way too much authority in all of this.  Why not let someone independent figure out punishment besides the commissioner?  All other pro leagues have a czar off crime and punishment and actual guidelines governing discipline.  The commissioner appears to make things up as he goes along in the interest of the NFL's bottom line.  His initial ruling was all about the setting a precedent, and appearing to do the right thing in the face of federal lawsuits pending against the NFL by former players with head injury issues. All I know is bounty gate will not be over for some time and it will get messier.  Player safety is important and bounties are deplorable.  It is very good that these issues have been brought to the forefront.  Unfortunately, the solutions offered thus far by the league have been monetarily influenced.

Early Returns

Pats lose.  Wow! What an ending.  The Patriots were dominated by the Cardinals defense all day yet had a shot to pull it out.  Ryan William's fumbles instead of just lying down on the field with a minute left.  Pats get the ball back,  Inexplicably they start draining clock with a minute left.  They could have gone for a closer field goal attempt or even a touchdown.  Then the field goal attempt is missed and they lose 20-18.  Unreal.  Shocking end to the game.  Robert Kraft's facial expression in the owners box was classic.

The Pats clearly didn't deserve to win this one.  Karma loss?  The offensive line was constantly beaten and as a result Brady had little time to throw.  Welker caught a few which was encouraging.  From what I saw the Pats defense kept the momentum going from week one and played well.  Seriously, losing to Kevin Kolb?

The Giants won a thriller 41-34.  Eli Manning was huge throwing for 510 yards.  The Giants again were the cardiac kids winning a thriller.
Philly shocked me by coming back and holding on to beat Baltimore despite the turnovers.

Team Gagan had a good set of early games.  \Vick threw two picks but passed for over 300 yards, threw for a td, and ran for a td.  NIcks was stellar, amassing 199 yards and a score on 10 catches.  MJD had a nondescript 60 rushing yards but caught a score.  Gronkowski caught 6 for 75 yards aand a score.  Bradshaw was hurt early in the Giants game, so a roster move in all likelihood will be coming this week.

Thinking I will need to add another RB this week.  Dropping Jennings.  Also thinking about releasing one of my wide receivers and adding a new one.  The Oakland duo of Moore and Heyward-Bey have been useless  on my bench to this point.  Would like to drop one of them.  LaFell on Carolina intrigues me.

Pregame

Agonizing over who to start at qb today.  Just found out Pierre Garcon is out for the Redskins, RG3's top target.  Decided to leave it up to a coin flip.  Tails.  Vick is getting the start today.

Great day of college football yesterday.  Watched the end of a few early games.  Ohio State escaped versus Cal, cannot believe the coverage on the winning pass to Devin Smith.  The ULM Warhawks almost pulled one out in  Auburn.  Too bad.  Beating SEC teams in consecutive weeks would have been unparalleled.  USC looked pathetic in getting absolutely manhandled by Stanford on both sides of the ball.  Shocked.  I can"t believe Stanford is that good without Luck.  My Notre Dame Irish also were impressive in rolling over Michigan State.  The defense was stout, especially the line and linebackers.  The offense with the young quarterback and Cierre Wood, while not overly impressive, is also taking shape.  Could this be the year the Irish turn it around and regain national relevance?  Kelly seems to be the man for the job.  We will see.

The upsets yesterday killed my picks.  I picked Michigan State, USC, Ole Miss, BYU, and Tennessee.  Brutal day.  On the season my picks are average.  I\ guess Tennessee is not back and I have no idea how Florida is picking up W's in foreign locales.  Gator Hater!

Week One pt2

Yep. I lost week one to GraySJ.  Bummed.  Lost by eight points.  Brutal.  Ashamed. Why did I make all those changes?  My game was the closest margin of victory in the league.  My leading scorer was the Jets defense.  Excited for more turnovers and scores from the Jets D and special teams but geez the boys didn’t perform.

                Michael Vick was horrendous, throwing far too many picks, and almost throwing another pick on the play before his winning touchdown pass.  Unbelievable.  He’s a veteran, right?  Meanwhile Robert Griffin, herein know as Bob, pulled a Newton.  Truly a great effort in his first NFL game, wow. 

This week Vick will be on the bench for me, (plays a stout Baltimore defense) and Bob will get the start.              

                Before week one I picked up Rashad Jennings to offset the Jones-Drew conundrum.  Jennings gets hurt and MJD ends up getting lots of carries and performing well for someone who just reported.  The unforeseeable!  That’s what this fantasy is all about I guess.  Shocking news alert!  MJD will start this week. 

                Starting Heyward-Bey over Shonn Greene was also a poor decision.  Greene was an above average performer and it appears McFadden will get most of the touches for the Raiders.  You guessed it.  Greene starts this week. 

                All in all many positives to be taken out last week. Gronkowski and Thomas looked good.  The point totals should rise for Team Gagan when a couple of things happen.  Everyone performs as expected.  Nicks and a few others who are a bit banged up recover.  And when the meddling coach/gm stops freaking out and

                Having giving my opinions on the Giants game in Part One I will now address my other favourite teams first game.  The Patriots looked strong versus the Titans.  Stevan Ridley was a revelation at running back.  A strong slashing runner Ridley amassed over a hundred yards.  It had been years since such a memorable performance by a Patriots runner.  The running game, when functioning well, makes the Pats almost unstoppable because of the receiving weapons Tom Brady has to play with.  However, I can’t help but wonder, thus cursing my team, if Brady’s best clutch performances are behind him.  Has he lost his edge?  That rare ability he had to will his team to victory on the biggest stage.  Is Eli Manning and recent playoff failures in his head?  Will it matter if they are?  Can the Patriots win without Brady at his apex?

                The Pats defense was uplifting to watch.  Last year in particular was a mess for them on that side of the ball.  Ugh.  Painful.  Sunday was an indication that the D is much improved.  Arrington and the secondary might finally seem to be coming of age.  The two top draft picks Jones and Hightower combined on a forced fumble and touchdown.  It was an amazing play lifting the spirits of Pats fans all over the globe.  The future seems bright for the defense. 

                It will be very interesting to see what the Pats do this year.  The AFC seems a bit week this year.  The Jets and the Peyton Manning led Broncos surprised in week one.  Houston and Baltimore seem like real threats to take the conference crown.  In the NFC the Niners took week one stomping on the Packers. 

                Week One brings so much anticipation and joy for the football fan.  I was glued to the tube for most of Sunday.  Catching the endings of the close early games was a treat.  The Lions despite winning seem to me like good picks to disappoint this year.  Expect an uproar in Eagle land if that type of performance continues.  Arizona could pile up some victories given the talent on that roster if they had someone inspiring to throw the ball.  Is Cam Newton destined for a sophomore slump? 

                Week One was a blast and Week Two is coming for us all!  

Week One pt1

WEEK ONE ROSTER MOVES AND GAME ONE OF THE SEASON     

Well.  There was some long term good news.  Maurice Jones Drew reported to camp.  I fretted for days over his absence and made some bold moves that will in all likelihood come back to bite me.  I picked up Rashad Jennings off waivers due to the Jones conundrum I was in.  Jennings should get plenty of touches in Week 1 and with a horrendous Gabbert playing quarterback for the Jags should produce.  I dumped Michael Bush in order to take on Jennings.  The move essentially is Bush v. Jennings.  I have since learned that Bush will be the Bears goal line back.  That means touchdowns. Damm.  I guess it will come down to injury replacement odds, Forte or Jones-Drew.  Missing the preseason and its injury risk will hopefully help MJD. 

I also changed my flex starter for the opener versus GraySJ.  Heyward-Bey is starting replacing Shonn Greene.  Definite coach bias with this one, I hate the Jets.  However, all of the Raider receivers seem to be banged up and Darrius seems to be healthy.  The Raiders and Carson Palmer want to air it out, face a poor Chargers D, this one should pay off.

The league is now all about passing so going with a wideout at the flex position makes sense.  My worries are the wide receivers on my opponents team for week one.  GraySJ has Fitzgerald, Jones, and Marshall.  I have Nicks, Thomas, and Heyward-Bey.  Yup.  No real comparison here.  Praying for a miracle here, Thomas and Heyward-Bey need to break out this year

NYG v. DAL Sept 5^th

Dallas won this one and deserved the victory.  Romo was impressive producing on throws from outside the pocket.  Ogletree and the lack of Giants depth in the secondary were the stories of the game.  Looks like Dallas has found its #3 receiver.  Bryant and Murray also had impressive season debuts for the Cowboys. 

The Giants as they do every year started out slow.  Shocking.  No one on the roster besides the front seven on defense impressed.  Victor Cruz dropped several balls.  Think celebrity has gotten to his head.  My two players were duds.  Hakeem Nicks caught four balls for thirty-eight yards.  He is still a bit nicked up but that doesn’t help me.  Bradshaw redeemed the night at the end with a 33yd scamper, a fist pump moment.  His touchdown was also great but he rushed for about eighty yards and was stymied for most of the night.  It was tough to watch but onto Sunday. 

The experience of watching a game with my fantasy players involved was noteworthy.  I am a Giants fan and they sputtered.  It was painful at times, especially with my fantasy players involved.  Divided attention became the theme of the night.  Rooting for your team v. rooting for individual players.  It was tough, my mind constantly wandered.  I felt guilty at times.  Was I giving the Giants enough focus?  As twitchy as the night became I enjoyed myself and hope for better results on the weekend. 

Team Gagan

Joining the fantasy football ranks seemed easy enough.  Pick players and watch games, easy street. Try something new, learn a trade, kiss some babies; maybe I’ll get Tom Brady.  Initially I had a swell of Belichekian confidence.  Then I really thought about it all.  Wow, am I doing this?   As I began to ruminate, a bad habit, my heart began to race.  My mind spun with the possibilities.  I became overwhelmed by the prospect of drafting via the internet.  Being a spurious decision, there was no preparation on my part.  Stat geeks probably had been going at it for months pouring over the inane and delicate numbers that determine fantasy value.  It had been 20 years since I had done anything fantasy related.  Baseball rotisserie back then was hard enough for me.  Way too much work with very little resources in the pre internet, pre sports dorks era.  The stone ages back then, I figured.  Just imagine fantasy now.  The anxiety was steady, too many variables, too many numbers, and too many players.  So I froze, fearing my own stupidity, poor key stroking, and the dreaded draft pick clock. I was scared, plain and simple. 

I found the out.  Hallelujah! Auto pick! Safety in computer driven madness, no guilt, second guessing myself, agonizing over Antonio or Santonio, it all seemed perfect.  Bring on the team. 

                Then the picks came in and Team Gagan was formed by ESPN Fantasy Football. 

STARTERS

QB: Mike Vick, PHI

Hmm, can pass and run. Seems ok! Except he gets hurt often, very often, in Kevlar vest I trust.

RB: Maurice Jones-Drew, JAC 

Really! Auto pick takes the guy #5 overall.  He’s holding out, Khan isn’t folding.  Dammit, hating the auto pick.  My Brady dream crushed.  FML!

RB: Amad Bradshaw, NYG    

Not ideal but a Giant fan, so I’m happy. 

WR: Hakeem Nicks, NYG

Another Giant!  Things are looking good. 

WR: Demaryius Thomas, DEN

Huh, hope this works out.  Decker is more Manning’s style.  Praying for a breakout year and that Peyton can throw the long ball.

TE: Rob Gronkowski, NE

Brilliant auto pick!  The Pats are my other team.  A touchdown machine. 

FLEX: Shonn Greene, NYJ

Yuck a Jet!  Pedestrian back.  Should be productive given the Jets horrendous aerial attack. 

D/ST: JETS

My gawd I hate the Jets but I have to admit this is a good pick. 

K: Rob Bironas, TEN

Kicker!  Woot!

BENCH

RB: Michael Bush, CHI

Whatever, they got Forte. 

RB: Donald Brown, IND

Bad team, flashes of something?

WR: Darrius Heyward-Bey, OAK

Think this one depends on Carson Palmer’s season. 

WR: Denarius Moore, OAK

Umm, I have two Raider receivers and their first names rhyme, must mean something. 

TE: Jared Cook, TEN

Who? What? I’ve never heard of him.  Thanks auto-pick.

QB: Andrew Luck, IND

Insurance for the injury prone Vick.  Loving the auto-pick.

QB:  Robert Griffin, WAS

See above.  Both star in the making rookie quarterbacks on my team.  Truly blessed, wish more than one QB could start games.  Tough decisions ahead, when Vick scrambles out of the Kevlar.