A 4' 6" guard/forward/center from Turlte Lake Elementary...

When I was a kid I had one of those plastic hoops that sits over the door and I was the most dominant bedroom baller I knew. I used to play the entire NCAA tournament bracket. I knew the names of starters, reserves and every stat that I could lay my hands on before the internet became a one stop shop. I would break my own heart with buzzer beaters as I still remember the day that Bobby Hurley hit a three from the other side of my bed to beat my beloved Runnin' Rebels. Perhaps I was foreshadowing what I still believe is the biggest upset to ever grace the tourney. You can have your Winthrops and Valpo's, that UNLV team was men playing boys and they had beaten the same Duke team by what seemed by 100 points the previous season.

My point to all this is when did I lose my way? Sure I still fill out my bracket for gambling purposes but no longer do I know what 6th man is best to bring in to cool off a hot shooter. Maybe it was the exuberance of youth but somewhere I lost any and all passion I have for basketball. I hate that ESPN force feeds 16 games a week. I actually went about 9 months w/out once turning on ESPN because I was so tired of the crap they feed us. But that is for another rant.

I think my disdain for basketball comes from the state I live in. Minnesota has always been a hockey state and it is my favorite sport to watch. But the basketball here has become unbearable. Sure the Gophers hired Tubby Smith to resurrect the program but the Timberewolves are still the worst, most over priced ticket in town. Until McHale is fired I will not turn on one more game. Twice last year I turned down free, fourth row tickets because driving and parking downtown wasn't worth it to me.

I have always been a sports fan, not just a hockey or football or baseball fan. I have watched curling and Rugby and Aussie football for hours at a time. I have watched numerous women's softball world series games. I have watched auto racing and figure skating and water polo. Point is, I love sports, all sports. Heck, I watched the Tour de France for a couple hours once. Why is it that I can no longer stomach watching basketball? Perhaps the two torn ACLs as a result of playing pick up games has also tainted me but I watch volleyball and baseball and my worst knee injuries have come as a result of those two sports.

I don't have a point to this post, just memories of days gone by when the soft Wilson basketball would swoosh and make half of the net fall off. Gone is Chucky Smith taking over in the 4th quarter. Gone are the days of the fab five running the floor and Jimmy King finishing off the break with a two handed jam. Gone are Mookie and Stacey King dominating inside and out. Steve Smith once scored 60 of his teams 75 points on 25 of 26 shooting. The only miss being at the buzzer in a lose to Missouri and 50 points from Doug Smith. Funny the things that stick out in my mind. I couldn't tell you pi or what a tangent or cotangent is but I remember those hard fought games in my bedroom. Oh the memories. Hopefully my son will experience a love for all sports and one day ask me for an above-the-door hoop so he can play his own NCAA tourney and maybe carry the Gophers to a national title.

choppin' wood

Remember when the Jags had this as their slogan until the punter tried to chop himself up so he could go on the IR and avoid those rigorous practice routines? I do to. This now pertains to my venture back into fantasy baseball. To say the season for both my squads got off to a slow start would be an understatement. In my head-to-head I started out 0-4! In my roto I bounced around the bottom three for the first few weeks as well. I am now happy to say that the ship has righted. I am on my way to my 4th consecutive victory to even the record at .500. I always knew this wasn't an 0-4 squad and realized that having the most points scored against you each week can crush your fantasy baseball dreams just as fast as it does in football.

The roto squad is a different story. Due to time zone differences we changed from a live draft to an auto-draft. This sucks for me since I like to draft more than I like to play. It is especially hard since my rankings are generally way different than those of Yahoo! or ESPN or sportsline. I just didn't have the patience to go in and make any wholesale changes. The only three guys I wanted were Hamilton, Verlander and Hamels, but where to rank them? So, I just didn't bother.
I hated the look of my squad right out of the gate and started to relentlessly pursue trades and scower the waiver wire. Since opening day I lead the league in transactions....have to lead the league in something right, and I have only three players remaining from the squad I "drafted". Those three being Cano, Hamilton and John Maine. Well, I am happy to say I have climbed all the way back up to second place thanks in part to FA wonders Nate McClouth, Carlos Quentin and Edinson Volquez. My pitching stafff has really started to heat up and considering Johan Santana is statistically my worst pitcher, the future looks bright. I have a mountain to climb to catch the guy in first, but it's a long season and his ridiculously hot team will start to cool off at some point...right?

I'm sure none of this will matter because as fall rolls around my obsession with fantasy football will kick in and I will forget my baseball teams even exist. I guess we'll just enjoy the ride and see what happens. Next time I may even write an article about my views on players and who will turn it around and who will fade away through the long, hot summer. Until then, Mark Schlereth sucks!

The mocking nevers stops - 3/4

ROUND 3:

21. Steve Smith - When he has a QB, he is right with Moss as the most unstoppable WRs in the league. With a backfield that can light it up on a weekly basis I can afford to go after Smith and live with the weeks he'll disappear. projection - 1200 yds, 11 TDs, 80 receptions

22. Laurence Maroney - what a difference a year makes. Maroney was a sexy first round pick in most drafts last year. Now I contemplate him or a WR in the third. Ultimately had to go with the guy who might see the most 6 man fronts in history. Projection 1200 yds, 10 TDs, 30 receptions.

23. TJ Houshmandzadeh - I thought about Greg Jennings and Plaxico Burress but TJ catches a ton of passes. 1300 yds, 9 TDs, 95 receptions.

24. Reggie Bush - I can hear everyone in the draft room laughing but I have LT and TO so I can afford to take the guy who plays WR and occasionally RB. He's like his own flex position. Projection - 1300 yds, 10 TDs, 65 receptions

25. Marques Colston - After a slow start last year he went on to produce some decent numbers. And this is that year three crap that fantasy experts continue to spew even if it has not been accurate for decades. projection - 1200 yds 9 TDs, 85 receptions.

26. Plaxico Burress - None of the RBs excited me as much as having Andre and Plax as my WR corp. He was hurt all year and still put up good numbers so i expect bigger things this year. Projection - 1300 yds, 12 TDs, 65 receptions.

27. Maurice Jones-Drew - I panicked! I looked at the rankings over and over until everyone at the draft started yelling at me, next thing you know I have Jones-Drew. Oh man, I hope he catches some passes. Projection. 1400 yds, 9 TDs, 50 receptions

28. Anquan Boldin - I wanted to vomit as I saw all the WRs get drafted since my last pick. I forgot everyone in this league thinks the same when it comes to drafting. I need a WR and there are a couple guys that would be good #1 guys if the #1 guy on their team was gone. Ultimately I went with the guy that wants a new contract and ran angry even before he was angry. Projection - 1300 yds, 9 TDs, 80 receptions.

29. Torry Holt - Any RB i take at this point has a chance to produce the same points as someone I take later so I'm going with big game to have a nice little year. He was top level for so long it's nice to get him this late under the radar. projection - 1300 yds, 12 TDs, 80 receptions.

30. Greg Jennings - So I get two straight picks before I hibernate on the PS3 until next round. Favre is gone and Rodgers is unknown but all Jennings does is catch TDs. projection - 1100 yds, 11 TDs, 60 receptions.

Round 4:

31. ernest graham - I hate this pick so I wrote it in all lowercase. Man the RB core is unsexy this year. He is the top guy in Tampa so here's to hoping he can come close to last year. Projection - 1200 yds, 9 TDs, 45 receptions.

32. Michael Turner - I guess it's time to grab a RB. would have been nice to see Turner end up somewhere else but he is the #1 guy and will have a chance to get both TDs this year. Projection - 1400 yds, 10 TDs, 40 receptions

33. Brandon Marshall - As long as he is healthy this pick is money. I know have a bigger version of Anquan and BMarsh has a lot to prove this year. With Cutler knowing what was ailing him these two could be even better together. Projection - 1300 yds, 10 TDs. 85 receptions.

34. Wes Welker - I almost crapped my pants when I thought Marshall was going to fall to me. I thought about taking him last round. I know having teammates is a no no but hopefully Welker continues to grab more balls than Jenna Jameson. projection - 1200 yds, 8 TDs, 100 receptions.

35. Tony Romo I usually wait for a QB but the next few picks will be QB and WR heavy so I think I can wait for my RB next round. Romo is awesome until December so I will ride that to the playoffs. Projection - 3900 yds, 31 TDs (2 rushing)

36. Roy Williams - I am not excited about this pick but I am hoping he has that once a year monster week early so I can unload him for someone I really want. He is trade bait and that could hamper him all season. still, he is a WR prototype so if he can stay healthy he has giant upside. It took Plax some time to get it figured out. 1100 yds, 9 TDs, 70 receptions.

37 Chad Johnson - Someone had to be that guy. Johnson was the 500 lb gorilla in the draft room. My last two picks are high risk, high reward but my first two picks give me that luxury.
Projection????- 1400 yds, 10 TDs, 85 receptions

38. Roddy White - Imagine the thought of this just one year ago. the largely undrafted Fa last year has worked his way up into rd four without the presence of an NFL QB on his team. projection - 1200 yds, 9 TDs, 70 receptions.

39. Santonio Holmes - I thought about someone in particular and if this draft was in August I may have gone a different route but Holmes benefits from the more open offense they now have in Pittsburgh and it looks like big Ben learned that he is supposed throw to the guys in gold and black. projection - 1200 yds, 9 TDs, 65 receptions.

40. Kellen Winslow - I didn't intend on being the guy that drafted the first TE but at this point he is a better option than any of the WRs remaining. I hate this guy so I fully intend on tryin to trade him later. projection - 1100 yds, 8 TDs, 70 receptions.

As I look back, this draft is pretty terrible. Not because I made a lot of bad picks but because the lack of talent at the RB position is at it's lowest in a long time. Gone are the days of Alexander and Rudi putting up big numbers. Willie Parker's 15 minutes appear to be up and Fred Taylor is a mystery that appartly I was shying away from up to this point. The main issue is that these aging RBs have yet to be replaced by premiere players. Arrington? Watson? Who will step forward with Peterson and Addai as the next generation of stud fantasy RBs. Maybe round 5 has the answer.

Remember yesterday

Woke up to the sound of pouring rain
The wind would whisper and I'd think of you
And all the tears you cried, that called my name
And when you needed me I came through.
Skid Row

When I look back at the first round of last years fantasy draft I cringe. Many of the picks definitely did not come through and that stirs up the debate about if it's really necessary to get RB in the first two rounds. I for one have never been a believer in that strategy but I know most fantasy purists swear by it. Let s look back at the top RBs that presumably went in the first round and think about their production.

In my main league last year RBs went in this order:
1- LT
2- SJax
3- Westbrook
4 - LJ
6 - Rudi
7 -Gore
8 - Bush
9 - Parker
10- Maroney

Only one pick in the first round was not a RB and only one RB (Westbrook) exceeded or lived up to preseason expectations. Yes LT still had a good year and Parker was good in yardage only leagues, if people still play in those, but no other back produced at a first round level. Most of you are still going to go out and draft RB in the first two rounds because it is what you are supposed to do. Sort of like wiping your ass after you shit. You don't have to wipe your ass, but you do because you are supposed to. On a side note, please wipe your ass. The guy behind me on the bus yesterday smelled like manure. No exaggeration. Every time he adjusted I would get a dose of noxious gas wafting in my general vicinity. I know the girl next to me thought I smelled like shit and I could not let this slide so I made a point to turn sigh and cover my nose. Yep, that should do it. now everyone knows that I smell like flowers and its the guy behind me that rolled around in a shit blanket. Where was I? Oh yeah, do not feel obligated to follow the social norms of fantasy drafting. Every year countless "experts" write articles about changing your draft strategy and every year people really want to but it's easier to fall back on old habits.

Before you start thinking I am going to draft WR, QB, WR, D, K in the first five rounds, understand that the WR was good but the top level didn't necessary live up to the hype either. The first two WRs that went in my main league were Steve Smith and Marvin Harrison. now we all know that Harrison was all but invisible last year but if you had Smith, you had to hope your league was 3 weeks long and that the playoffs waited until week 16 to get started. In between he was the picture of mediocrity getting outscored by the likes Nate Burleson and Bobby Engram. But what you will see is more consistency because the top WRs drafted tend to have more years of proving it on their record. Andre Johnson is an absolute stud. Huge body, lightning fast and the #1 target on his team. Yet he slipped to rounds 5 and 6 in most drafts. If he was a RB he may go in rd 1 or 2 because everyone would fall in live with his huge upside. But as a WR he fell because he hadn't really proven it yet in the pros. Why do we let ourselves get infatuated with RB upside? Look at me. Peterson only has one year under his belt but I have him going 2nd in a mock draft. Why? Because I live in MN and I saw him live last year and I realized with my own two eyes that this guy is a once in a lifetime type of RB. Much the way Randy Moss was a once in a lifetime WR when the Vikings took him and he burst on the scene as a rookie. Incidentally, Moss and Peterson are two of 3 quality first round picks the Vikings have made since 1998. No, I don't count McKinnie and Culpepper and if you had to watch Vikings games, you wouldn't either.

My point to this endless drivel is to create your own strategy. If you only have 5 1st round quality RBs in your rankings, don't reach for one because you are supposed to. I have never been scared to buck tradition in my drafts and this year especially, seems to be thin with 1st round talent. If you can build your team around Moss or Brady or Manning and search for this years Ernest Graham or Ryan Grant or Justin Fargas, do it. The RB position has more people emerge from nowhere than any other position on a yearly basis but how many times does a WR come off the waiver wire to lead you to a championship? I thought so.

Go Patriots