Month: September 2009 (Page 7 of 66)

      How to fix fantasy basketball

      September 28, 2009 /

      BALL DON’T LIE recently published a guest post from RealGM’s Alex Kennedy that discusses why fantasy basketball is struggling when compared to fantasy football. Kennedy goes on to promote PASPN, a company that runs uber-realistic 30-team leagues where fantasy owners can play GM or even take the role as agent to negotiate contracts for their clients.

      But what about fantasy basketball as it stands? Is there a way to fix it?

      I think so. As both an avid fantasy football and fantasy basketball owner, I think fantasy hoops struggles for several reasons:

      Problem #1: Roto or category scoring systems are convoluted and difficult to understand/manage.
      Most fantasy basketball leagues utilize one of two formats. A roto format awards points based on a team’s rank in each of several categories. The team with the most roto points at the end of the season wins the leagues. Another format is category scoring, where each team plays head to head with another team in several categories, so one team might win in points, rebounds and assists, but lose in FG%, turnovers and blocks.

      Solution: Go to a head-to-head fantasy points system.
      My recommendation is to use the NBA’s efficiency statistic to calculate fantasy points for each player. Here is how efficiency is calculated:

      Continue reading »

      Fantasy Basketball, NBA

      Smith needs to fix the Falcons’ defensive woes

      September 28, 2009 /

      Putting aside their lackluster effort Sunday in New England, the Atlanta Falcons have more than enough offensive talent to reach the Super Bowl. They have a rising superstar at quarterback in Matt Ryan, a solid back in Michael Turner and two excellent receiving weapons in tight end Tony Gonzalez and wideout Roddy White.

      But the Falcons aren’t going anywhere unless Mike Smith fixes the issues on the defensive side of the ball.

      Atlanta’s game plan in its loss to New England on Sunday was befuddling. They often only rushed four down linemen and allowed Tom Brady to stand back in the pocket for seconds, minutes and even hours (maybe not hours, but it sure seemed like it) on end. What should frustrate the Falcons is that Brady wasn’t very good, especially in the first half. He routinely overthrew his receivers and often failed to hit them in stride despite having loads of time to get the ball out of his hand.

      I want to meet the person for the Falcons that watched the tape of the Jets’ win over the Patriots last week and decided not to attack Brady with multiple defensive fronts. I get that Atlanta didn’t want to be burned deep by Moss and was getting beat by New England’s screen passes in the first half, but why the Falcons didn’t get more aggressive in the second half is beyond me.

      Continue reading »

      NFL

      2009 NHL Preview: Dallas Stars

      September 28, 2009 /

      We’ve partnered with On Goal Analysis to bring you a team-by-team preview of the upcoming NHL season. (Just scroll down on the OGA website and hit the calendar.) Here is the preview for the Dallas Stars…

      SUMMER SPLASH

      * The Dallas Stars made big changes to the organization this summer after last season’s experiments with the co-GMs and Sean Avery. Tom Hicks, the owner, replaced the GM leadership by bringing in the 1999 Stars Stanley Cup MVP, Joe Nieuwendyk. Nieuwy then fired Dave Tippett and replaced him with coach Marc Crawford. The effect of this change to team chemistry and play is something all fans and players are anxious to witness.

      * Most of the changes to the team this off-season, were in fact, in the team offices and the bench. In addition to Dave Tippett, the Stars have also replaced both assistants on the bench by promoting former player-favorite, Stu Barnes (who assisted from the booth last season) and by hiring former Edmonton assistant, Charlie Huddy who will bring a more offensive-minded style to the Stars defense. This will be the first time the Stars will experiment with such an idea since locating here in 1993 under the tutelage of multi-Selke winning, Bob Gainey.

      * Major impact players who are no longer with the organization include Brendan Morrison who only played a handful of games with the Stars but could have been a nice addition to this ‘re-birth’ year if not lost to free agency when he signed with Washington. The hardest loss for Stars’ fans to absorb is Sergei Zubov to the Russian KHL league. Stars fans have had it good watching this man QB the Power Play for year after year. But the fans also had a chance to get used to a new-look defense without Zubie as much of his previous two seasons were lost to injury.

      * Additions to the team are defensive-oriented. A new backup to challenge and help rest Marty Turco was brought in with the signing of veteran Alex Auld. Karlis Skrastins and Jeff Woywitka were signed to add grit to the blue line. Mysteriously, the Stars signed free agent Warren Peters (LW) from Calgary. Mysterious, because the Stars are already so heavily-loaded on the left side…

      Click here to read the rest of the preview (which includes the site’s unique Playoff Qualifying Curve and fantasy information) at the On Goal Analysis site.

      NHL

      Johnson to replace Letwich as Bucs’ starter

      September 28, 2009 /

      Buccaneers head coach Raheem Morris said on Monday that Josh Johnson will replace Byron Leftwich as the team’s starting quarterback.

      From the St. Petersburg Times:

      “He provides us more options,” Morris said of Johnson. “We evaluated this morning, looked at the tape, and made the decision today. He gives you the dynamic that you all know about. He creates a better chance to break out of the pocket and make a play with his feet.”

      By going with Johnson, the Bucs seem to be looking for a spark without sacrificing the future development of Freeman, their prized first-round draft pick.

      Of Leftwich, Morris added: “I hate to make this about Byron…He missed a few throws, he didn’t give us the accuracy we wanted.” But at the same time, Morris said, Leftwich “didn’t jump offsides on the second play of the game” and “he didn’t drop passes. So it’s not all about Byron. But that position is usually — just like the head coach — the guy who gets the blame. I talked to Byron this morning and he lookedme right in the face and said, ‘Hey, I knew I had to get some wins early.’ And we’re moving on.’

      Unless Johnson can play defense for the Bucs, I don’t see this change making much of a difference. He has some raw talent, but Tampa’s receiving corps is banged up and it would be unfair to think that Johnson will enter the starting lineup and rescue a sinking team.

      As for Leftwich, this has to be his final opportunity to be a full-time starter. He’s proven countless times that he’s too inconsistent to hold onto a starting job for a full season (or even half a season) and he’s too mistake prone. He’s much better in a limited role and would be a better back up than starter. (See last year in Pittsburgh as an example.)

      NFL

      49ers will learn from loss to Vikings

      September 28, 2009 /

      The 49ers’ loss in Minnesota on Sunday is the kind of defeat that can deflate a team. But with Mike Singletary in charge, I don’t foresee that happening.

      San Francisco flat out blew a win yesterday. Had the Niners not been in a base defense when Greg Lewis got past coverage and Brett Favre found him in the back of the end zone with only seconds remaining, the 49ers would still be undefeated. (And with another win against the Rams coming in Week 4.)

      While addressing the media following the loss, Singletary said: “There’s nothing to look at the floor for. We’re gonna get better. We will see them again in the playoffs.”

      Singletary isn’t going to allow a good Niners team to dwell on this loss, especially when San Fran clearly has enough talent on its roster to make the playoffs. While losing running back Frank Gore to an injured ankle will hurt, the Niners did a nice job building depth this offseason when they drafted Glen Coffee.

      The Niners had several positives come out of their game yesterday, including quarterback Shaun Hill proving that he can make plays in the passing game. The defense is already good enough to hang with most opponents on Sundays and in Singletary, San Fran has a head coach that has instilled hard work and focus into his team.

      Ironically, the Niners are probably the class of a weak NFC West considering the Seahawks and Cardinals look vulnerable and the Rams are, well, the Rams. The division is there for the taking and something tells me that San Fran’s loss in Minnesota will only motivate them.

      NFL

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