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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.

Fantasy Football

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Sale of Cubs coming soon?

August 21, 2009 / Anthony Stalter

According to a report by the Chicago Tribune, the sale of the Cubs to the Ricketts family appears to be imminent.

Sources close to the matter described the execution of a definitive agreement as “imminent,” saying the expected a signing could come within days.
The completion of a definitive agreement would mean Tribune Co. would not be able to solicit any other bids for the team, sources said.
Tribune Co., unhappy with the pace of final negotiations with the Rickettses after selecting the family in January as the winning bidder of a protracted auction, opened discussions with another potential buyer several weeks ago. The prospective buyer wasn’t new to the process. It was a group led by New York investor and former Chicagoan Marc Utay, which was one of three finalists in the auction for the team.
The Rickettses have agreed to pay about $900 million for the team, Wrigley Field and a 25 percent stake in Comcast SportsNet Chicago, which broadcasts many Cubs games.

Maybe now that the Cubs will have owners who actually care about the success of the team, the North Siders will open up payroll this winter and spend to win.

Of course, it doesn’t help that the club will have Alfonso Soriano and Milton Bradley’s ridiculous salaries still on the books. Even so, it’ll be interesting to see if the Ricketts can have a positive influence on the Cubs over the next couple of years.

MLB

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Raiders’ assistant to speak to authorities about attack

August 21, 2009 / Anthony Stalter

According to the National Football Post, Oakland assistant coach Randy Hanson will turn over medical records on Friday at the request of authorities investigating an incident that occurred at the Raiders’ facilities in which Hanson’s jaw was broken, presumably by head coach Tom Cable.

The alleged assault took place Aug. 5 after Cable informed Hanson he would no longer be involved with coaching defensive backs on the field and would be relegated to film work, the source said. Cable had been working to reduce Hanson’s role for months, the source said. Cable said that Hanson had been confusing the Raiders’ defensive backs, and Cable held a closed-door meeting with the cornerbacks and safeties and just himself. That led to a meeting between Cable and Hanson in Hanson’s room, and later a meeting with coaches after Cable had instructed Hanson not to come to practice.
In the meeting among coaches that included Cable, defensive coordinator John Marshall, defensive backs coach Lionel Washington and assistant defensive backs coach Willie Brown, Cable allegedly came at Hanson from behind as he was verbally contesting what Marshall had said.
In the meeting among coaches that included Cable, defensive coordinator John Marshall, defensive backs coach Lionel Washington and assistant defensive backs coach Willie Brown, Cable allegedly came at Hanson from behind as he was verbally contesting what Marshall had said.
According to the source, Cable knocked Hanson out of his chair and up against the wall and into a cabinet. Cable and Hanson fell to the floor, where Hanson was choked, the source said, and Cable was pulled off Hanson by the other men before Cable went after Hanson again.
“Cable said, ‘I am going to kill you, I am going to kill you,’ as he was choking him,’’ according to the source, who also said furniture in the room was damaged.

Granted, this is just speculation and nothing has been proven yet, but if any of the above is true, it’ll be interesting to see how the league punishes Cable. According to the article, Hanson can be a pain in the ass, but that doesn’t mean he deserves to have his jaw broken and his life threatened.

Cable notified Hanson that he would only be breaking down film in the future, which is why Hanson doesn’t mind cooperating with authorities because he knows he won’t be allowed to return to his former position. There will probably be an investigation and Cable could face a felony charge. I’m just speculating, but after that, the league could step in and either fine or suspended him, or both.

This situation is far from over for Cable.

NFL

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Sheffield threatening to leave Mets

August 21, 2009 / Anthony Stalter

According to a report by the New York Post, Mets outfielder Gary Sheffield asked the club for a contract extension, they rejected, and now he’s threatening to leave the team and go home.

As of 6:30 p.m., one of the sources said, Mets officials and Sheffield were in discussions on how to move forward. Mets pitcher Tim Redding actually said he heard Sheffield had been released. But a Mets official told the Post that was inaccurate and that Sheffield had not been released.
Sheffield had been part of the original lineup for Thursday night’s game against the Braves. But Jerry Manuel said that Sheffield had pulled himself to clear his head.

It’s understandable that Sheffield wants an extension considering that his current contract is expiring and at his age, he’s looking for a little job security. He’s also hitting .285 with 10 home runs and 43 RBI, so he’s had a good season up to this point.

But it was highly unprofessional of him to remove himself from the starting lineup on Thursday because he’s upset with the front office. Just because he’s had a good year and has proven that he can still play at 40, doesn’t mean he’s entitled to put his personal desires above the team.

The Mets gave him a chance to continue his career after the Tigers released him in March and how does he repay them? By causing a stink because they won’t give him a contract extension. Seems selfish and immature on his part.

Sheffield has burned down bridges everywhere he’s gone and seems intent on doing that again in New York.

MLB

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