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      Need some sleepers?

      October 24, 2005 /

      In the world of fantasy sports, anyone can make solid picks in the first few rounds. It’s the middle to late rounds where championship squads are born. Here are a few sleepers (all being selected, on average, in the 8th round or later) that I’m trying to pick as the draft wears on.

      GUARDS

      T.J. Ford, MIL
      After a terrific career at the University of Texas, Ford was drafted #8 overall by a Milwaukee Bucks team in need of a point guard. Known to be lightning quick and a great distributor, the two big knocks on him are his size and lack of shooting touch. He didn’t do anything in his rookie season to dispel either, shooting just .384 from the field before going down with a season-ending spinal cord injury. But the injury might have been a blessing in disguise for Ford, who rehabbed with former NBA coach/player John Lucas. Lucas wisely decided to reinvent Ford’s jumpshot so that Ford wouldn’t have to go to the hole to be a scoring threat. Fast forward to this preseason and, through four games, he’s averaging 13 points and six assists while shooting .474 from the field. I think those numbers are reasonable expectations for the season, putting him at the level of Jamal Tinsley and Luke Ridnour, who are both going a few rounds ahead of him.

      Jason Williams, MIA
      I’m not a big fan of all the extra flash in his game, and he seems like a mental lightweight (as evidence, I submit his official picture here. But one thing is for sure: he’s a talented ballhandler. That’s not to say he’s efficient – his career assist to turnover ratio (2.7) is worse than converted shooting guard Jason Terry’s ratio (2.9) last season – but he can handle the ball. After stints in Sacramento and Memphis, Williams has landed in Miami and is slated to start alongside Dwayne Wade and Shaquille O’Neal for the Heat. It is unclear if this lineup is going to work in the long term, but if Williams is able to play the role of the third or fourth option on offense, he should be able to rack up a ton of assists and improve on his career .390 field goal percentage. Thus far in the preseason, he hasn’t shown this potential, so he’s still considered a high risk pick. If he manages to fit in, I think 11 points and seven assists are within reach.

      Bonzi Wells, SAC
      After a couple of lackluster seasons in Memphis, Wells finds himself in a contract year and starting for the Sacramento Kings. He supposedly going to get 40 minutes a game and if he receives that kind of playing time, he should be able to improve on his career averages of 12.7 ppg, 4.4 rpg and 2.2 apg. Since he’s being drafted on average in the tenth round, that’s pretty good production. There is nothing quite like a contract year to get a malcontent like Wells motivated to perform.

      Raja Bell, PHO
      If you’ve already drafted, there’s a good chance that Bell is still in your free agent pool. This offseason, the Suns let Joe Johnson and Quentin Richardson sign elsewhere, and lost Amare Stoudemire for at least four months of the season. That’s an awful lot of points to replace. They signed Bell and have him as their starting shooting guard, and in six preseason games, he’s averaging 14 points, four boards and three assists. If Phoenix continues to have success with their up-tempo offense, he should be able to take these numbers well into the season. Not bad for a guy you can get in the final round of your draft.

      FORWARDS

      Josh Childress, ATL
      Picked sixth overall in the 2004 NBA draft, Childress had the opportunity to play and improve in his rookie season with the Hawks. Over the last eleven games of last season, he averaged 16 points, seven boards and three assists. The free agent signing of Joe Johnson will surely change the dynamics in Atlanta, but there will still be ample minutes for Childress. Through five preseason games, he’s averaging 15 points, five boards and three assists per, while shooting .617 from the field. The accuracy should regress, but the other numbers should tick up a bit as he gets regular season minutes.

      Stromile Swift, HOU
      The Rockets signed Swift in the offseason to act as a hard-nosed, rebounding compliment to Yao Ming. At the moment, it appears that he will be coming off the bench, but it is expected that he will receive a good amount of time playing behind Juwan Howard. In his last three seasons in Memphis, he didn’t receive more than 22.1 minutes over the course of the season, but he should get a minimum of 25 in Houston. In the twenty games last season where he played that many minutes, he averaged 15 points, seven boards and more than two blocks. His career FG % (.468) is less than spectacular but his FT % (.712) isn’t bad for a big man. He is also eligible at center in many fantasy leagues, which only adds to his value.

      Al Jefferson, BOS
      Jefferson entered the 2004 draft straight out of high school and was promptly selected #15 overall by the Boston Celtics. With only Raef LaFrentz and Mark Blount ahead of him on the depth chart, he figures to see a lot more minutes this season. He is the team’s best low post threat and should make a nice compliment to Paul Pierce and Ricky Davis on the wings. He has appeared in two preseason games and posted a total of 18 points and seven boards in 36 minutes. If he gets 30 minutes a game, he should score in the 15-17 range while grabbing 7-8 rebounds.

      Michael Sweetney, CHI
      Obtained from the Knicks in the offseason, Sweetney is slated to start at power forward for the Bulls. It appears that Chicago got a nice player in Sweetney, and he should be the team’s main low post threat as center Tyson Chandler isn’t much of an option on offense. Last season’s All-Star break, Sweetney averaged nine points and six rebounds on .530 shooting. Through six preseason games, he’s averaging 11 points and six boards. He’s also a good free throw shooter for a big man – he’s nailed .861 of his attempts in the preseason.

      Josh Howard, DAL
      Howard inexplicably fell to #29 in the 2003 draft, where the Mavericks jumped on him. Apparently, being the ACC Player of the Year doesn’t hold as much water as it used to. Regardless, Howard has turned into a good pro, averaging 13 points and six boards last season while logging heavy minutes for the Mavs. With the departure of Michael Finley, I suspect Howard’s scoring to increase some while he remains the team’s perimeter stopper.

      CENTERS

      Zaza Pachulia, ATL
      The Hawks signed Pachulia in the offseason to be their starting center and through five preseason games, he’s averaging 13 points and six boards. A hard-worker/overachiever type, Pachulia gives maximum effort when he plays. He’s not very athletic, so he won’t give you very many blocks, but he’s a great free throw shooter (.746) at the center position. Since opportunity is a big part of the fantasy success equation, Zaza should be a good fantasy backup as the season wears on.

      Kwame Brown, LAL
      Ah, good ol’ Kwame Brown. Every year, countless experts list him as a sleeper and each year he doesn’t fail to disappoint. He had a rough go of it in Washington and I think the change of scenery will do him good. He’s slated to start at power forward for the Lakers, but is also eligible at center in most fantasy leagues. The Lakers will need him to produce and I think Phil Jackson will be able to coax out most of his potential. Over the first six preseason games, he’s averaging 11 points and six boards and I expect those numbers to grow to 13 and seven before the season is through.

      Joel Przybilla, POR
      As a Bucks fan I loath writing this paragraph, but if the guy is a sleeper a guy is a sleeper, and you deserve to know about him. After being drafted #9 in the 2000 NBA draft, it was safe to write of Przybilla as a bust. He did next to nothing in Milwaukee, but after being traded to Portland, he had a renaissance of sorts, averaging nine points, 10 boards and three blocks for the Trail Blazers after the All Star break. His career free throw shooting (.473) will kill you, but his field goal percentage (.533) is terrific. So what’s the key to his success? He admitted he was lazy and got a trainer. After dropping 45 pounds he became a beast on the boards. His increased spryness also enabled him to block more shots. This guy is a great pick in the 8th round if you need a center.

      Fantasy Basketball, NBA

      The Los Angeles Saints?

      October 24, 2005 /

      ESPN’s Chris Mortensen has reported that the Saints have probably played their last game in New Orleans. The city is seen as a struggling small market and there were talks of the Saints moving even before Hurricane Katrina. The Saints will probably play next season in San Antonio with a possible move to Los Angeles on the horizon.

      Since the Rams and Raiders left, the NFL has been dying to put a franchise in the country’s second biggest market, but the city wasn’t able to get its act together in recent years and lost out to Houston for the league’s 32nd (and possibly final) team. Now the city is the first to be mentioned whenever a franchise is thought to be moving. As a SoCal resident (living in Orange County), I’d like to see a team relocate either to Anaheim or to a site somewhere along the LA County and Orange County border. It’s a sad situation, but given all the other entertainment possibilities in the area, I think residents of both counties need to have access to the team in order for the NFL to thrive in Southern California. And they need to do what the Browns did when they moved to Baltimore – change their nickname. Somehow, the LA Saints doesn’t sound quite right, unless you’re trying to be ironic.

      NFL

      The Colts are the team to beat

      October 24, 2005 /

      The Colts are the best team in the league and my favorite to win the Super Bowl. I know, I know – I’m not really going out on a limb with this pick, so why is it relevant? Before the season, I was asked to pick an overrated and underrated team for a feature on Bullz-Eye.com. I chose the Colts as my overrated team. Here’s an excerpt:

      The problem lies with their defense. Last season, they were 29th in total defense, 27th in yards per rushing attempt, 18th in scoring defense and dead last in opponents’ pass completion percentage. This is not going to get it done. There are signs of hope, however. The Colts D was third in the league in takeaways and sixth in the league in sacks. If the Indianapolis defense is able to crack the top 10 in most of the aforementioned categories, they might have a chance to make the big game. But until they prove their defense is at least a threat to stop the opposing team, we’ll continue to see the Colts exit the playoffs quickly.

      At the time, the Patriots and the Colts had identical Super Bowl odds (11-2). New England had yet to be decimated by injuries and Indianapolis had yet to prove they could play any defense. Well, seven weeks into the season and the Colts look like the team to beat. They are sixth in the league in total defense, fifth in passing defense, fifth in takeaways, and they lead the league in sacks. Their offense has been a bit inconsistent, but their defense has proven it can win the close games. Tony Dungy appears to have succeeded in his goal to make the Colts D one of the top units in the league, and his reward may be home field throughout the playoffs and a Super Bowl ring. However, there is one worrisome statistic that may prove to be fatal. Indianapolis is allowing 4.5 yards per rush, good for 27th in the league. A team with a good defense and a strong running game (with enough of a pass offense to keep the defense off balance) could cause problems for the Colts. What team most closely fits the bill? The Pittsburgh Steelers.

      NFL

      Why I’m Now Rooting for Houston to Win the World Series

      October 23, 2005 /

      I spent the last ten years of my life on the north side of Chicago. I actually bled Cubbie blue a good eight years before I ever moved there, thanks to the scores of games that WGN broadcast in 1986 to little ole me in Smallville (Lancaster, Ohio, if you’re curious). I was lucky enough to attend dozens of Cubs games (quite possibly over 100) in my time, including all four of the NLCS games in 2003 against the Marlins. So when the White Sox made the playoffs, my first reaction was, well, the Red Sox ended their curse last year. How cool would it be if the White Sox ended theirs the next year?

      Well, forget that. I can’t root for the White Sox. And the fans of the Sox have no one but themselves to blame for it.

      There’s a joke email going around that includes an application for Cubs fans to become White Sox fans. It’s pretty funny, and rightfully pokes fun at all of the ludicrous things the Cubs have done over the years in order to “shake things up” (trading Lou Brock, College of Coaches). But when I stand back and analyze it, I see it for what it is: the work of someone deeply insecure and insanely jealous. The Cubs were the golden children of baseball in Chicago the entire time I lived there, even though they made the playoffs only twice. And the White Sox fans suffered the worst Napoleon complex you can imagine as a result.

      My distaste for the Sox comes down to two separate events at two different Cubs/Sox games. In the first game, my wife and I were in the Wrigley bleachers, and the White Sox were beating the ever living snot out of the Cubs. There was a Sox fan a few rows in front of us, and he turned around and gloated to all of the Cubs fans that surrounded him. Now, that alone is no big deal. We’re good sports – hell, we’re Cubs fans – and we can take a good rousing. But he kept doing it as the Sox increased their lead, and eventually, he turned around, for the third or fourth time, with his arms up, saying, “Awww, yeah, how ya like us now?” And a Cubs fan threw a piece of popcorn at him, and hit him in the nose. A measly little piece of popcorn.

      The Sox fan instantly attacked the Cubs fan. In the Wrigley Field bleachers.

      So let’s review: The Sox fan is taunting Cubs fans in their own park, and yet completely flies off the handle and starts a fight when someone actually stands up to him. Dude, what the hell were you expecting? Me, I was amused by the whole thing, except the part where they threw the popcorn thrower out of the park along with the Sox fan, which I thought was unjust. But I never forgot just how thin that Sox fans’ skin was.

      And then another Sox fan went one better a couple years later. In the last Cubs/Sox game I attended, I witnessed a war of words between three Cubs fans and three (shirtless) Sox fans as we were walking down Sheffield. The Cubs fan fires some lob about who was doing better in the standings.

      The Sox fan said, “Yeah, well, at least I’m not some yuppie faggot.”

      That, right there, is why I don’t like the White Sox. First of all, whoever this jackalope was, he was clearly just as much of a yuppie as the Cubs fan was; the tickets to those games are never cheap, thanks to the Cubs’ privately owned ticket scalper (don’t even get me started on that). Whatever the Cubs fan paid for his ticket, odds are the Sox fan paid just as much, and possibly more. And yet, the Cubs fan is a yuppie faggot, and the Sox fan isn’t?

      It all speaks of a deep seated envy that I just find sad and pathetic. I can’t imagine how insufferable those sorry bastards will be if the Sox actually win the World Series before the Cubs do. That is why I can’t root for their team, even though it means siding with the arch rival Houston Astros instead.

      I have nothing against the White Sox. They’ve played smart ball all year, and when it counted, they knocked the Tribe, my favorite AL team, out of contention just when everyone thought the Sox were the most vulnerable. But all I have ever heard from their fans is, “I don’t care, as long as the Cubs lose.” “Sox rule, Cubs drool.” Only losers say that kind of nonsense. And even if the White Sox win it all, the majority of their fans will still be the biggest losers I’ve ever met.

      You want to prove you’re better than that, Sox fans? Then act like you’re above “yuppie faggot” slander. Until then, it doesn’t matter how many games you win. As long as you have that attitude, you’re still losers.

      MLB

      World Series, Game 2: Chicago 7, Houston 6 (Chicago leads 2-0)

      October 23, 2005 /

      Ye gods, we have another umpire controversy in Chicago. Jermaine Dye coxed a plunk out of the home plate umpire, even though the ball hit his bat (the Fox crew showed definitively that it was indeed a foul ball). This eventually leads to Paul Konerko batting with the bases loaded. He sees one pitch from D.J. Qualls. He hits it for a Grand Slam. A Grand Slam that never should have been.

      It brings out the Oliver Stone in me. First you have the non-call during A.J. Pierzynski’s at-bat in Game 2 against Anaheim that instantly leads to a White Sox win. Now you have the non-hit batsman in Game 2 against Houston, that leads to a certain Chicago win. It’s as if baseball made it clear to the umpire crew how good it would be for baseball if the White Sox won.

      And yet, it wasn’t quite over yet, as the ‘Stros got to Bobby “Big Time” Jenks and took him for two runs with two out in the top of the ninth. That play at the plate was a nail biter; the tag was there, but Chris Burke lifted his hand and slammed it down on the plate to avoid the tag. October drama, at its finest.

      So imagine everyone’s surprise when Scott Podsednik hits a dinger off of Brad Lidge in the bottom of the ninth. Podsednik, who had been hitless all night and hit ZERO HOME RUNS all year. Go figure. Someone has to be the Scott Brosius or Mark Lemke. May as well be the guy with no stick.

      MLB

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