Author: John Paulsen (Page 441 of 937)

      2009 NHL Preview: Edmonton Oilers

      September 29, 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 Edmonton Oilers…

      Team Play: ISSUE – The Buffalo Sabres’ Twin. No offense intended, Oiler fans. But off-season acquisition-wise, Edmonton made a nearly unnoticeable number of changes just like Buffalo has done. Edmonton’s big difference, however, is the coming of an entirely new coaching staff. If, as it has been said, that the team’s issue was that MacTavish wasn’t listening to the team and vice-versa, there is a good chance it might just be all the Oil needs. Also of note was the trading of Dwayne Roloson, Mathieu Roy and Dany Sabourin for Nikolai Khabibulin in return. The Bulin Wall will have to stand strong as there were departures in the forward and defensive ranks that secured only Mike Comrie and two prospects with a combined 35 games and five points’ NHL experience.

      The early CBS Sports page for the Oilers projects a line pairing of Moreau-Horcoff-Hemsky from left to right on No. 1, and Jacques-Gagne-Penner on No. 2. The team will see if Andrew Cogliano, Robert Nilsson, Patrick O’Sullivan or the newly acquired Mike Comrie, have anything to say about positions on the top two lines during training camp. Three of the top four defenders were good for more than 30 points last season and Sheldon Souray wound up tied with Shawn Horcoff as the second leading scorer on the team. Both Souray’s and Visnovsky’s scoring are crucial to team success, so both must remain healthy this season. And with Khabibulin as Goalie No. 1, number two seems to fall to Jeff Drouin-Deslaurie. He should be asked to get between the pipes for 20 or so games, and while he had a decent save percentage at .901 in last year’s contests, he will need to improve in that department AND his goals against to steal some of that 20.

      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

      NBA Rumors: Monta, T-Mac, LaMarcus and more

      September 29, 2009 /

      Monta Ellis is still unhappy with the Warriors. Jonathan Abrams (via Twitter): “Monta Ellis may ask out of the #Warriors too soon, via some1 in his camp. Still bitterness on both sides from the mo-ped fiasco.” I don’t know why Ellis is angry at anyone but himself when it comes to his moped accident. The team invests a ton of money in a guy and he’s out riding around on a moped. Unbelievable.

      T-Mac doesn’t have anything to prove to anyone…but himself. Tracy McGrady: “I don’t have to prove to nobody that I still got it.” If NBA contracts weren’t guaranteed, McGrady would have been cut long ago. Even though he’s just 30 years old, T-Mac has missed 109 games over the last four seasons, or 33% of the Rockets’ games. He’s in a contract year, so he’s highly motivated to prove that he’s healthy and ready to contribute. With Yao Ming out for the season, T-Mac’s return may be the most compelling story coming out of Houston.

      LaMarcus Aldridge isn’t happy about the lack of a long-term deal. This is a little perplexing. Unless Aldridge’s camp thinks that he’s a max player, I don’t see why it would be difficult to come to a number. I pegged his value at $13-$14 million per season and that seems reasonable for a guy with his skill set.

      Stephen Jackson doesn’t think the Warriors are getting better. Jackson: “It feels like we’re not getting better.” Jackson said in late August that he was “looking to leave” the Warriors, and Don Nelson said that the team would move him if the right deal came along.

      Andre Miller doesn’t seem too happy in Portland.       It might be the fact that Steve Blake is still the Blazers’ starting point guard, or it might be the tedious media events he was required to attend, but this is a situation to watch.

      NBA, News, Rumors & Gossip

      Delonte West is back on his meds

      September 29, 2009 /

      When asked about his eventful summer, West gave the ol’ no comment-comment. (Cleveland Plain-Dealer)

      “You have to respect the legal process,” West said, repeating similar comments by Cavs GM Danny Ferry and coach Mike Brown. “I understand there [are] a lot of questions. Right now what I want to focus on is this team and playing basketball. Once details come out surrounding the situation, you’ll see that it is not as big as some are making it. It is bad timing right before training camp, unfortunately, but all we can do is focus on basketball right now.”

      “I’m back taking my meds and everything,” he said. “I’m focused on basketball. I’m dealing with some issues. I get highs and get lows. But all the last year I’ve been consistent being in a nice . . . routine. I was in a routine that I got out of this summer. I got away from it.”

      Sounds like he has his head on straight again…or at least as straight as it can be.

      NBA, News

      Waiver Wire Watch: Week 4

      September 29, 2009 /

      Every week, I highlight a few players that you should target in waivers. I use the ESPN league data when filtering players, so the only players eligible for discussion here are those that are available on the waiver wire of at least 50% of ESPN’s leagues. I’ll list each player’s percentage-owned after their name so you have an idea of how available they are in leagues around the country. I’ll always try to mention a few players that are available in 90% of leagues for those of you in 12-team leagues or leagues with big rosters. I’ll rank them in the order I’d pick them up in a league with a high-performance, PPR scoring system.

      Please note that these rankings are for total value through the end of the year. Players with particularly good matchups this week are in bold.

      Mark Sanchez (45.1)
      Sanchez posted his third-straight solid fantasy day. He’s averaging 202 yards and 1.3 TD per game in his young career. He can be trusted for fill-in duty.
      Shaun Hill (8.5)
      Hill is going to put up good fantasy numbers when the 49ers can’t run the ball down their opponent’s throat.
      Jason Campbell (20.4)
      Campbell is averaging 264 yards and 1.0 TD per game. He has a nice matchup next week against the Bucs.
      Jake Delhomme (19.2)
      Kerry Collins (10.7)
      Matthew Stafford (6.7)
      It’s probably not a good idea to roster Stafford in a league that penalizes INTs heavily, but he could be okay in deep leagues that don’t.
      Seneca Wallace (0.3)
      Kyle Boller (0.1)
      It looks like Marc Bulger is going to be out for a while and Boller is a journeyman who could put up decent fantasy numbers since the Rams will be trailing most of the time.
      JaMarcus Russell (9.9)
      Chad Henne (0.3)

      Continue reading »

      Fantasy Football

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