Author: John Paulsen (Page 467 of 937)

Industry Insiders Fantasy League: Round 3

August 22, 2009 / John Paulsen

To start with Round 1 (and see the scoring system and roster requirements), click here.

Heading into Round 3, I had Chris Johnson and Steve Smith on board, and felt that I got off to a pretty good start. The first decision I had to make was to turn down a trade offer from the team with the 3.03 pick. He wanted to move back in the third, up in the fourth and up in the sixth. I considered moving up to grab Wes Welker, Clinton Portis or Ronnie Brown at 3.03, but both Welker and Portis went, and I didn’t feel strongly enough about Brown to give up my position in the fourth round.

In other words, there were enough players that I would feel comfortable selecting at 4.05, but I wasn’t so sure that would be the case for pick 4.10. In retrospect, trading up probably would have worked out, though I likely would have ended up with the same player in the end.

Here’s how the first part of Round 3 went: 25) Kevin Smith, 26) Wes Welker, 27) Darren McFadden, 28) Terrell Owens, 29) Drew Brees, 30) Pierre Thomas, 32) Dwayne Bowe

At 3.08, I had to choose amongst Tom Brady, Ronnie Brown, Ryan Grant, Marshawn Lynch and Reggie Bush. Housh was also available, but I felt that if I went WR/RB/WR through the first three rounds, it would put me in a tough spot if the teams drafting after me went on a RB run.

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The Everton Way

August 22, 2009 / John Paulsen

Soccer enthusiasts should check out this article [Insider subscription required] in the Aug. 24 issue of ESPN The Magazine. It’s about “The Everton Way,” which is a term used to describe the training method used by EPL team Everton, a club that doesn’t have money to poach the best players from other teams, so they have to cultivate it. Think of Everton as the Milwaukee Brewers of the EPL.

Tony Farrell (a.k.a. “Tosh”) is touring the U.S. holding clinics on the subject. More and more U.S. soccer associations are signing up and are starting to teach their kids the system, which focuses less on wins and losses and more about coaching and technique.

The Everton Way is many things, but at its center is this maxim: Great footballers are made, not born. Like every British team, Everton is permitted to sign kids as young as 9 years old to its youth academy. But, per the rules of the Football Association, which governs the EPL, no club may recruit any player who lives more than an hour’s drive from its training complex. The mandate was instituted long ago to keep the battle for young talent from turning ugly. The problem for Everton is that one-quarter of its scouting region is in the Irish Sea. So, over the past 20 years, the team has perfected a teaching strategy that, in truth, is more nuanced worldview than coaching dictum. There are no secret mantras or exotic drills in the Everton Way; most of the training techniques are identical to those used at other major soccer academies around the world. The difference is in the details, or more precisely in the club’s commitment to paying close attention to them. To the extent that the Everton Way has major tenets, they are as follows: 1) The best coaches should teach the youngest players, because lifelong habits are formed early; 2) all instructors should coach according to their expertise, which means you will never see an Under-16s coach holding forth on the potential of an Under-10s player; 3) winning doesn’t matter until kids are about 16; what does matter is technique and development; and 4) every year, at least one player who signed as a 9-year-old will debut with the pro club.

Could this be what finally makes U.S. soccer a constant on the international stage?

Soccer

English Premier League EPL The Everton Way

T-Wolves still trying to secure Rubio’s release

August 21, 2009 / John Paulsen

According to the St. Paul Pioneer Press, Minnesota GM David Kahn is intent on seeing Ricky Rubio in a T-Wolves uniform this season.

Timberwolves President David Kahn has made a second trip to Spain to try to learn more about what it will take to get Ricky Rubio, the team’s No. 1 draft pick, to Minnesota.
It’s still unclear whether the 18-year-old point guard could get out of his DKV Joventut Barcelona team’s contract, which includes a $6.6 million buyout, in time for Wolves training camp in October.
It’s expected to be several more weeks before the Wolves learn whether they will have Rubio for the coming season. But Rubio has indicated to Kahn that he’s willing to come to Minnesota if the buyout issue can be resolved.
Right now, the issue is money.
It’s believed the $6.6 million buyout has been negotiated down by some European teams to about $4 million.
If the buyout could be decreased to about $3 million, that probably would be enough for Rubio to get out of the his Spanish contract and get to Minnesota. Rubio could pay the $3 million or so over the next several years from his salary from the Wolves.

There was some speculation that the T-Wolves and the Knicks may be working on a deal that would send Rubio to New York, but nothing can happen until he is free from his DKV Joventut contract and is able to play in the NBA.

I wonder if Kahn has second guessed his decision to take Rubio and point guard Jonny Flynn back-to-back in this summer’s draft. The pick has certainly created a lot of headaches for Kahn and the organization, and right now he looks a little foolish.

NBA, NBA Draft, News, Rumors & Gossip

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Industry Insiders Fantasy League: Round 2

August 21, 2009 / John Paulsen

To start with Round 1 (and see the scoring system and roster requirements), click here.

With Chris Johnson on board, I felt I was off to a pretty good start. I had the fifth pick in the second round and I knew that Reggie Wayne, Michael Turner, Steve Smith, Brian Westbrook or Frank Gore would fall to me. Given the starting requirements (2 RB, 3 WR, 1 Flex), I preferred going with a WR in round two so that I had more flexibility in the upcoming rounds.

Round 2: 13) Reggie Wayne, 14) Michael Turner, 15) Frank Gore, 16) Brian Westbrook

So that left Steve Smith for me. His bruised shoulder is a minor concern, but he’s already back on the field and when he plays, there are only a few wideouts that are more productive than Steve Smith. Last season, he was suspended for the first two games and still finished as WR10. He had the fourth-best average (18.6 fp) in the league behind Anquan Boldin (22.1), Andre Johnson (20.2) and Larry Fitzgerald (19.6). Over the last four years, he has averaged 18.0 fppg. He’s barely on the wrong side of 30, so I wouldn’t expect that he would show any signs of slowing down for another 3-4 years.

I briefly considered Boldin, Roddy White and Clinton Portis, but didn’t feel as good about any of them as I did about Steve Smith. (If you’re wondering, with a total of six starting RBs and WRs, QBs are slightly devalued in this league.) Taking a WR in the second round should allow me to pounce on value at any position in the next few rounds. If I had gone with another RB, I wouldn’t be able to go RB/RB in Round 3 and Round 4 if the value was there.

Round 2, Pick 5: Steve Smith, WR

The rest of Round 2 went like this: 18) Marion Barber, 19) Anquan Boldin, 20) Greg Jennings, 21) Roddy White, 22) Clinton Portis, 23) Brandon Jacobs, 24) Marques Colston

Click here to see all of my round-by-round picks.

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