When I first heard that Alex Rodriguez once failed a steroids test, I have to say I was a bit surprised, and no matter what the report says, for some reason I still don’t believe it.

I know, I know, I can’t argue with test results. But how can you trust a result of a test that was never supposed to exist? How can you trust the words of four “sources” who were so honest in making the test results known that they dishonestly violated the fact that the test was anonymous and confidential?

Sure these players, especially A-Rod, make a ton of money and should be held accountable for their actions. But ask yourself if you went into a doctor’s office and they said, ‘It’s OK, we’re not going to tell anyone you have the clap.” And sure enough, that shit is posted on facebook for all to see within minutes of you paying the valet at the clinic.

You’d be pretty pissed right?

Confidential is confidential and anonymous is anonymous, it should stay that way. What makes this whole story even more fishy, is that the sources themselves are remaining anonymous and haven’t come forward. Now, if you have the balls to call someone out and jeopardize their livelihood, then you too should step in the limelight and let people know who you are and show your evidence. It’s common courtesy.

By no means am I some sort of A-Rod apologist either. I really haven’t been his biggest fan — yeah I was happy he joined my Yankees, but that’s based on his talent. Which is really why this whole A-Roid thing doesn’t make sense to me. He’s talented. He’s always been talented and he’s never appeared like he used some sort of performance enhancing drug to become talented.

Since his debut in 1994, he’s only hit less than 35 home runs three times. In 94 and 95 when he played a combined 196 games (only 54 in ‘94) and hit 0 and 5 dingers respectively, and then again in 1997 when he hit 23 home runs.

Yeah, he jumped from 23 home runs to 42 in 1998, the peak of the steroid era, but he consistently hit 40 or more long bombs until the in question 2003 season when he hit a career-best 57 home runs, which was followed by 47. Which in reality isn’t that big of a drop off.

If A-Rod’s name is on that list of 104 people, make the other 103 known, it’s only fair. Sure, he’s the biggest name in the game right now and everyone hates him (even more so now), but he shouldn’t be called out while everyone else sits at home wondering if (or when) their name is going to be leaked.

Only time will tell what will become of A-Rod, but for now I’m sticking by him and hoping it’s not true. If it is true, who’s next? Jeter?

God I hope not.

Weeks ago I made the dumbest mistake of my fantasy life.

And I paid for it this weekend.

Playing a team (in my 10-team keeper league) that was using a bunch of fill-in starters (since he was missing Brandon Marshall, Adrian Peterson and a few other guys) against me, I felt pretty confident going into the week.

I lost by six points. Let me tell you how I get there so you don’t make the same mistake.

After a big game a few weeks ago I decided to trade Falcons’ WR Roddy White to my brother for Torry Holt. I analyzed the schedule and saw a bunch of tough games for White and a bunch of easy matchups for Holt.

What I didn’t know at the time was that White was going to become a fantasy stud, and Holt was going to go from “Big Game Torry Holt” to “No Game Torry Holt.”

After weeks of underachieving Holt games and 20+ point performance from White, combined with two straight losses in a league I was dominating, I decided to sell the future for the now.

On Monday I packaged Darren McFadden, Hines Ward and my No. 1 pick next year for White, the criminal LJ and a late draft pick next year.

If I hadn’t traded White to begin with, it would never had come to that. But alas, I am a moron and you shouldn’t take advice from me.

So without further ado, here’s who you should start and sit this week. Read the rest of this entry »

In lew of the normal who to start and who to sit, this week I am handing out some midseason fantasy awards.

I’ll be more than happy to help you set your lineup this week, but I figured since Week 8 marks the midway point in the fantasy season, what better way to mark that then to dole out some awards.

And for you league commissioners out there, now would be a good time to start putting back some of those league dues you embezzled when gas prices were up around $4.00 a gallon.

On to the podium.

The Lance Harbor Award: Tom Brady, QB, Patriots. For those of you who may not remember the movie Varsity Blues, Harbor was the QB who injured his knee in the first scene and was out for the whole year. Brady, like Harbor, was injured in the first eight minutes of the NFL season, sending every Brady owner into a tizzy.

The Orange Jumpsuit Award:  Larry Johnson, RB, Chiefs. With so many run-ins with the law, the winner of this award was hard to chose. I could have gone with Pacman Jones, but he doesn’t garner much fantasy attention. I could have gone with Chris Henry, but surprisingly he’s kept his nose clean. I should have gone with Matt Jones, since we all no his nose isn’t clean, but instead I chose Johnson. Not only has Johnson been in trouble with the law recently, but he’s been holding your fantasy team hostage all year. Those two things make him the clear-cut winner.

The Janet Jackson “What Have You Done For Me Lately” Award: LaDainian Tomlinson, RB, Chargers. The overwhelming No. 1 draft in almost every league has been overwhelmingly disappointing in the first eight weeks. LDT has rushed for only 446 yards and four touchdowns this year, scoring less fantasy points than guys like Matt Forte, Ronnie Brown and Michael Turner. All guys that were drafted well after LDT.

The Most Talked About Injury Award: LaDainian Tomlinson, RB, Chargers. This could have gone to Mr. Brady too, but since he’s out, we’ll give it to Tomlinson and that crazy toe of his that just won’t let up. I know that my big toe is a vital part of my daily life (sitting in front of a computer puts much stress on it), but Tomlinson’s toe has been talked about more times than he’s scored touchdowns. I guess since he’s only scored four that’s not really that much, but you get my point. Read the rest of this entry »

Keeping with the election theme, it’s Week 7 of the NFL season, and whether or not your team is 6-0, 5-1 or 1-5 it’s time to think about changing your team’s look.

Now, if you are at the top of the standings, I don’t recommend a complete overhaul of your team, but a change here and there right now could be the difference between a fantasy championship and a first-round playoff loss.

For example.

In the league at work, I am currently sitting pretty at 6-0. I really have yet to be challenged in any week, but I still needed to better my team. And thanks to Derek Anderson’s (finally) great performance Monday night I was able to do just that.

I packaged Anderson with an injured Felix Jones for Carolina quarterback Jake Delhomme. While Anderson and Delhomme’s numbers are similar (1,338 yards, 5 TD, 5 INT, 2 fumbles for Delhomme and 853 yards, 5 TD, 6 INT for Anderson), I’d rather have the more reliable guy than a one-week wonder. Can Anderson rebound this year and finish with more points than Delhomme? He sure can. But I don’t think it’s going to happen. Anderson was pumped on Monday and that will probably be his best game for a while. But I’m glad he shined, just because he became valuable trade bait.

Heed my advice and make a trade now. If you are a bottom-feeder, than trade away a great player for a couple of good ones. In the long run, it may help you reach the playoffs. Read the rest of this entry »

With a win already locked up, I decided to stay up Monday and check out the Saints and Vikings game. Boy am I glad I did.

All I have to say is “wow.”

What Reggie Bush did was something I’ve never seen before in my life. Sure the Saints ended up losing, despite the efforts by Bush and the Vikings’ punter, who for some strange reason kicked it to Bush not once, not twice, but THREE times. And had it not been for Bush tripping over the 50-yard line on the second punt return, we could be talking about a trifecta of punt returns for touchdowns.

Last night may have been the presidential debate, but my vote was already decided Monday. It’s Bush for me, and I’m not talking about the sorry one that currently sits in the Oval Office.

Speaking of Bush, Reggie, not G.W., I think he’s finally figured out this whole NFL thing. Of course it would have to come as his tenure on my keeper league is coming to a close.

On the field, and on my team, Bush and his quarterback Drew Brees are single handedly tearing it up. Their real team may suck, but in fantasy land, they are the frontrunners for MVP.

You know who’s not a frontrunner for MVP? Anyone on the Lions. If you have a Lion (Calvin Johnson and Roy Williams included) get rid of them. Detroit has no clue what is going on, which was made evident by the fact that it had some guy name Orlovsky playing QB last week. That’s not a good thing.

Neither is when your QB goes down in the first quarter during the first offensive series, as Bills QB Trent Edwards did last week. I had Edwards starting, and had it not been for Bush’s antics Monday night, I could have lost to a girl. That alone makes me hate Edwards and want to get rid of him.

Looking for a few other people to get rid of? Here’s my list of people that I’m done with: Edwards, Ricky Williams, J.T. O’Sullivan, Marvin Harrison, Chad Ocho Cinco, any Bengals running back, Larry Johnson, Mushin Muhammed, Willis McGahee, Brian Griese, Vernon Davis, and for all you kicker lovers, David Akers.

A few guys I like this week: All the Saints (against Oakland), all of the Giants (against the Browns), Clinton Portis and Jason Campbell (against the 49ers), Isaac Bruce (has caught TDs the last 3 weeks), Ronnie Brown (against Houston), all the Cowboys (against Arizona) and Larry Fitzgerald (against Dallas).

Keep an eye on these guys and their health woes: Brian Westbrook, LaDainian Tomlinson, Darren McFadden, Edwards and Donovan McNabb.

Teams on bye this week: Pittsburgh, Buffalo, Tennessee and Kansas City.

Sitting in my buddies basement last Sunday watching all the games on Sunday Ticket (a must buy for all you DirecTV owners), a guy in my league proposed an interesting, yet dumb, suggestion.

“You should be able to change out your players at halftime if they are sucking,” he said. “Then it would be more like real football. They bench their quarterbacks at the half.”

It should be noted that he said this while Brett Favre, who he had sitting on his bench, already had thrown four of his six touchdowns, while his starting QB, Kurt Warner was apparently trying out for the Jets.

I informed him that the point of fantasy football is not to be like real football, but rather to project how good you think people are going to perform. If you guess incorrectly and your guy stinks out the joint, then that’s your bad.

He then proceeded to kick me out of his house. I’m just playin, but I’m sure it crossed his mind.

On to this week’s thoughts.

I think Favre’s performance was nice, but it was against the Cardinals and I wouldn’t project a 6-TD day from him any time soon. If you get two TDs from him you’ll feel lucky, but know you’ll be getting a couple INT’s to go with them.

I watched a lot of football on Sunday, bits and pieces of almost every game, and I still think that Drew Brees is the top QB in fantasy. His best receiver is hurt and he still finds a way to throw for more than 350 yards. Of course his defense is awful, and that makes him throw the ball more.

And no, I’m not just saying that because he’s on one of my team’s and has single-handedly won 3 games for me.

Speaking of the Saints, I think last week was a bad week for Reggie Bush, but don’t give up on him yet, Deuce McAllister’s return will actually help him in the long run. Just watch.

I think the Browns and the Bengals are just awful.And for those of you that didn’t know Carson Palmer wasn’t going to play, I’m sorry. But if you had Sunday Ticket you would have known that in time to make a switch.

I can’t believe that Felix Jones and Marion Barber combined for 8 carries against the Redskins, with eight of them going to Barber. Dallas needs to run the ball and this sort of mistake won’t be made again.

I think Washington’s offensive players may be for real. Jason Campbell, Santana Moss and Clinton Portis should be starting every week for you.

I think the Eagles are nothing without Brian Westbrook. As is your team if you are relying on him. I know of two guys that left him in their lineups even though he was inactive Sunday night. I told you to be wary. You should have listened.

Corell Buckhalter is no Brian Westbrook. You saw that on the 4th and goal play Sunday night.

I think Anquan Boldin is going to be alright. He probably won’t play this week, but in the long term (I hope) he’ll be fine. That hit he took was awful.

If you’re in search of a replacement for Boldin check out Steve Breaston (9 rec. 120 yards last week), Mushin Muhammed (147 yards, 1 TD), Matt Jones (fourth straight game with 5 catches) or Lance Moore, who helped me take down Brent this week.

Sorry, had to mention that. But know that Brent’s team is God awful. He’ll even admit to that.

I think I want nothing to do with the running backs in Denver, Baltimore, Arizona or Pittsburgh. And if you picked up Mewelde Moore thinking that he’ll be just as productive as Willie Parker, you are seriously mistaken.

I drafted Rashard Mendenhall in my keeper league, dropped him two weeks before his first start, then watched as he broke his shoulder and is now out for the year. To think, I could have got Jonathan Stewart with that pick.

I think more teams in more leagues need to start trading. Too many owners are paranoid that they are going to help another team out by trading away a player. Trade for need and value, and it doesn’t matter where that person is in the standings. If he’s got someone you want try and get him. Don’t be scared of what could happen.

If you are scared buy a dog.

That dog will probably leave you a package sort of like the Broncos left on the field in Kansas City on Sunday. But at least it showed that Larry Johnson can still score some points. That, or it showed that Denver’s defense is really awful. I think it’s the latter.

J.T. O’Sullivan we hardly knew you. But did you see his hair in his mugshot during the game? I can’t use the word that we used that day to describe it, but it rymes with massbat.

Remember these teams are on bye this week: Oakland, the Jets, Cleveland and St. Louis.

I think three of those four teams shouldn’t come back for the remainder of the season.

Detroit, New England, Indianapolis, Miami, The G-Men and Seattle are all on bye this week.

For some of those teams that’s good news, for you? Probably not.
I’m not exactly sure why the NFL decided to have six teams off this week, but two things have had a direct result from the multitude of team’s with a bye.
1. It’s sending fantasy owners into a tizzy, as they try and pick up any able body for this weekend.
And 2. It saves me at least one more embarrasing week of leaving Ronnie Brown on the bench.
But face it, if you had Brown, chances are you didn’t play him. He was doing squat before Sunday’s 5-TD outbreak, and no one could have predicted that type of performance against New England. But it happened, it probably won’t happen again, but I know that he’s starting for me from here on out.
As is Reggie Bush and any other Saint I can get my hands on. With Brown (and Roddy White) on my bench this week, Bush, Brees and the Baltimore D carried me to a win. I think it’s official, Reggie Bush is the most valuable fantasy player right now…at least in PPR leagues.
OK, onto this week’s thoughts….

Read the rest of this entry »

Wanna know how much Desean Jackson’s inexplicably bone-headed move on Monday night affected fantasy football players everywhere? I have the ultimate story.

My brother — already getting shelled in my 10-team keeper league — had Tony Romo and Jackson playing Monday night. Romo was playing great, and Jackson was putting up great numbers. The score of his match went from blowout to respectable in just a matter of minutes.
Then came Jackson.

As my brother was celebrating Jackson’s touchdown, he was soon saddened by the fact that the rookie from Cal decided to toss the ball behind him prior to crossing the goalline. The touchdown was taken off the board, and ultimately given to Brian Westbrook, who was on the team my brother was playing against.
Just like that, Jackson cost his team 6 points, and gave them to his opponent. A 12-point swing, I never thought I’d see that.

Read the rest of this entry »

Now that I am fully recovered from the loss of Tom Brady (as I’m sure we all are, seeing how much it’s getting talked about), it’s on to Week 2’s projections. It’s early, so I don’t know which game is the game of the week, but if I had to put money on it, I’m guessing it will involve either Detroit or Oakland.

I think Philip Rivers is worth a start this week. He threw for 217 yards and 3 TDs in a loss last week, and should put up similar numbers this week against Denver.

I think Jay Cutler surprised me, and is now an every week starter. With Eddie Royal (more on him later) and now Brandon Marshall (who returns this week), Cutler should more than surpass his 299 yards and two touchdowns of Monday night.

I think Aaron Rodgers will soon make the people in Green Bay forget about Brett Farve. Especially this week, when he absolutely destoys the sorry Lions.

With the game out of reach, I think Jon Kitna is also worth the start. He’ll have to throw a lot to keep the Lions in it.

I can’t believe I’m about to write this, but you may want to consider starting Chad Pennington. I think Pennington can better his 251-yard, 2-TD performance against the Cardinals this week.

I think Matt Cassel will do just fine this week. The Jets did give up 251 and 2 TDs to Pennington, and New England will be out to prove something while playing without Tom Terrific. Read the rest of this entry »

For all of you that drafted Tom Brady in the first round of your fantasy draft, I only have one thing to say: I’m sorry.

For those of you that didn’t draft Brady, I bet you’re feeling a little bit better about yourselves today.

When Brady went down in the first quarter yesterday with what has now been determined a season-ending torn ACL, not only did Patriots nation (myself included) shed a tear, but Brady owners every where cried as well.

Well fear not Brady owners, you’re season, unlike Brady’s, is not over yet.

For starters, if you haven’t picked up Matt Cassel on the waiver wire already, you’re probably too late. I think Cassel will set a new waiver wire pick-up record this week. But rumors are that New England is bringing in Tim Rattay and Chris Simms for a tryout this week, which tells me two things.

1. Someone in New England must owe Rattay something. and 2. The Patriots don’t have that much faith in Cassel. Which leads to another thing: Simms could be the starter of the Patriots in the coming weeks. If you have room on your roster go grab Simms. I dropped Limas Sweed (0 catches for Pittsburgh in Week 1) and picked up Simms. Not so much for the reason that I wanted him, but because someone else may want him down the line. And if Simms is named the starter, he’ll be able to put up solid numbers in New England. Hell, I could probably throw for 250 and a few touchdowns with Moss and Welker as my wide receivers. Read the rest of this entry »