Author: John Paulsen (Page 468 of 937)

      Industry Insiders Fantasy League: Round 1

      August 20, 2009 /

      For the second consecutive season, I was invited to join the Fantasy Sports Writers Association (FSWA) Industry Insiders fantasy football league. Last year, 48 fantasy writers squared off in four, 12-team conferences utilizing World Championship of Fantasy Football (WCOFF) PPR rules, with a starting lineup of 1 QB, 2 RB, 3 WR, 1 Flex, 1 TE, 1 K and 1 DT. (So before you call me a jackass for making a certain pick, please consider the scoring system.)

      Last year, my team was one of four from my conference that made the playoffs, but once there, my squad petered out. Still, against this kind of competition, I think it’s a pretty solid accomplishment to finish in the top quarter to top third of all the teams.

      I had a late pick last year (grr) and drew a late pick this year (grr), although this is probably one of the better years to pick first in the late first round. Pundits complain about no clear #1 or #2 choice, though I think Maurice Jones-Drew and Adrian Peterson would look great in my backfield. One reason that picking late isn’t that bad this year is due to the (apparent) drop off in talent somewhere in the middle of the fourth round. Teams that pick late will get four of the top 40-45 players, while those that pick early will not. But more on that later.

      This is a slow email draft and right now, it’s going really slowly. We started on Tuesday, and two and half days later, we’re not even through the third round. (I thought these fantasy writers spent all day online like I do, but I guess I was wrong.)

      So, going forward, I’m going to do a post about each of my picks until it gets tedious (for me), which will probably be around Round 10. We’ll see.

      Off we go…

      Continue reading »

      Fantasy Football

      Memphis stripped of 38-win season

      August 20, 2009 /

      Wowsers.

      Per ESPN…

      The NCAA has forced Memphis to give up every victory in its 38-win season under coach John Calipari that ended in the national title game in 2007-08, saying the school used an ineligible player.

      The NCAA did not identify the player by name, though earlier descriptions of him lead to the conclusion it could only be current Chicago Bulls star Derrick Rose, the 2008 No. 1 draft pick who went on to win the NBA rookie of the year award.

      The player was accused of having another person take his SAT exam so he would be eligible as a freshman. Memphis argued it did not have enough information to substantiate the allegations in November 2007 and cleared him to play.

      However, the SAT officials later conducted their own investigation and notified the player, the university and the NCAA’s eligibility center that they were canceling his test in May 2008.

      The agency said it sent letters to the player in March and April 2008; the latter letter was sent three days after Rose and the Tigers lost to the Jayhawks. The player did not respond to either letter.

      I guess that terrific Kansas/Memphis OT title game never really happened…

      Obviously, this is a big deal, but it would have been monstrous if the Tigers had held on and beat the Jayhawks in regulation.

      This is another example of why the NBA should do away with its age-limit rule. Without it, Rose would have likely gone straight to the pros, and the college ranks wouldn’t have to deal with his (allegedly) trying to cheat on his SAT in order to get into college.

      John Calipari strikes again! (His 1996 UMass team was stripped of its Final Four berth.)

      College Basketball

      Another reason to be down on Michael Turner this season…

      August 20, 2009 /

      I’ve already mentioned the “Curse of 370,” but Michael Turner is facing yet another challenge this season — a much tougher schedule.

      Here’s a look at Turner’s performance last year against good, mediocre and bad rush defenses:

      – In three games against top 10 rush defenses (Chicago, Philly and Minnesota), Turner averaged 20.3 carries for 60.7 yards and 0.3 TD, which translates to 8.1 fantasy points.

      – In seven games against teams ranked #11-#20 in rush defense (New Orleans x 2, Carolina x 2, Tampa Bay x 2, and San Diego), Turner averaged 23.4 carries for 92.0 yards and 1.0 TD, which equals 15.2 fantasy points.

      – In six games agains teams ranked #21 to #32 in rush defense (Denver, St. Louis, Detroit, Kansas City, Green Bay and Oakland), Turner averaged 25.2 carries for 145.5 yards and 1.5 TD, which is 23.5 fantasy points.

      In short, Turner killed poor rush defenses, did pretty well against mediocre defenses and struggled against good ones. That makes sense, right?

      Heading into the 2009 season, Turner’s schedule is shaping up to be tougher. He has six matchups with teams that finished in the top 10 last year, nine matchups with teams that finished #11-#20, and just one game against a team that finished #22-#32 (#22 Buffalo). On average, he’s going from a schedule that has an average rank of 19.3 against the rush to one that has an average rank of 13.6. Not good.

      So assuming that Turner has the same averages against each of the three groups, and last year’s finish is a reasonable expectation for how these defenses will fair (a big assumption, I know), then Turner would project to 358 carries for 1338 yards and 13 TD. Those are still good numbers, but a far cry from the 1699 yards and 17 TD he posted last year.

      Assuming he continues to be a non-factor in the Atlanta passing game (and with the addition of Tony Gonzalez, this is not a big assumption), and posts another six catches for 41 yards, then these rushing and receiving totals translate to 221 fantasy points (in a high performance PPR league). That would have made him RB15 last year.

      I still like Turner — hell, I have him in a keeper league, so I’m rooting for the guy — but I just don’t think he’s first round material this season in PPR leagues.

      Fantasy Football

      10 things to look forward to this college football season

      August 19, 2009 /

      Gump4Heisman has a crude but funny list of the top 10 things to look forward to as college football gets rolling…

      Here’s a bit about Kirk Herbstreit.

      Imagine showing up for work and your boss saying:

      “OK (your name), what we need you to do today is to go to a college campus full of hot p***y and be good-looking on national television. Oh, and be sure to watch plenty of football, talk about plenty of football, and hang out with plenty of uber-famous football coaches. Anyway, here’s your hotel key and a few extra copies for any big busty sluts that happen to throw themselves in the general vicinity of your c**k during the upcoming Thursday-Sunday time frame.”

      Just as a warning, there’s some strong language, so it’s not for the fainthearted.

      College Football, Humor

      AI getting close to a deal?

      August 19, 2009 /

      Yes, according to his Twitter feed.

      My people just informed me that we are getting close to a deal. I asked them to call me the when its done. I am so ready to know!

      I have not been this eager with anticipation since the night before the NBA Draft in 96. Then I knew where I was going, now I want to know!

      It sounds like even he doesn’t know where he’s going. Why are his people keeping him in the dark? So that he won’t spill the beans on Twitter?

      Chris Sheridan outlines the five teams that are likely in the mix for AI’s services: Miami, New York, Charlotte, LA Clippers and Memphis.

      He thinks the Heat are the frontrunner.

      NBA, News, Rumors & Gossip

      « Older posts Newer posts »

      © 2026 The Scores Report – The National Sports Blog

      Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑