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      Captain Morgan NFL Thanksgiving Weekend Preview

      November 24, 2010 /

      Make your Holiday legendary with Captain and Cola. Join the party on Facebook!

      The Scores Report has teamed up with Captain Morgan to help preview the NFL action this Thanksgiving Day weekend! Below are five games you don’t want to miss in Week 12.

      The Top 5:

      1. Packers (7-3) @ Falcons (8-2), Sunday, 1:00PM ET
      You won’t find a better matchup all weekend. Two of the best teams in the NFC go head to head in what should be a high-scoring affair if Aaron Rodgers and Matt Ryan have anything to say about it. If Rodgers has time to throw, he could pick apart a secondary that plays a bend-but-don’t-break style of defense and has been known to give up big plays this year. On the other side, the Falcons’ stout offensive line will need to figure out a way to slow Clay Matthews in order to give Ryan time to find open receivers against a Green Bay pass defense that’s giving up just 211.3 yards per game this season. Could this be a potential NFC Championship Game preview?

      2. Chargers (5-5) @ Colts (6-4), Sunday, 8:20PM ET
      For the third week in a row, the Sunday Night Football matchup is a doozy. Following the likes of Patriots-Steelers and Giants-Eagles, the Chargers and Colts could put on a show in Indy this weekend. After losing three straight games in the middle of October, the Chargers have won three in a row and have climbed back into the hunt in the AFC West. Now they face a Colts team that has already lost four games this year, but none of those defeats coming at home. They’re a perfect 4-0 at Lucas Oil Stadium this year and you know Peyton Manning wants to get the taste of defeat out of his mouth after throwing an interception late in the fourth quarter against the Pats last Sunday. If the Chargers beat the Colts, it could turn the AFC playoff picture on its head.

      3. Eagles (7-3) @ Bears (7-3), Sunday, 4:15PM ET
      Time to find out whether or not the Bears are for real. Only one of their games this year came against a team with a winning record (Packers), unless you count their victory over a depleted Dolphins team (who was 5-4 at the time) last Thursday night. The Eagles have won three in a row and five of their last six and are now regarded as the team to beat in the NFC. Chicago could certainly quiet its critics with a win on Sunday, but beating a red-hot Michael Vick won’t be easy – even at home.

      4. Saints (7-3) @ Cowboys (3-7), Thursday, 4:15PM ET
      Thanks to the Cowboys’ recent two-game winning streak, not all of the games on Thanksgiving Day will be duds. Dallas has looked like a completely different team the past two weeks under interim coach Jason Garrett, but they’ll face a huge test this week when a hot New Orleans comes to town looking for revenge. The ‘Boys waxed the floor with the Saints last year at the Superdome and don’t think for a second that Drew Brees and Co. have forgotten that. Jon Kitna has played well the past two weeks but the Saints’ defense has a way of frustrating young and veteran quarterbacks alike. Look for the Saints to be ultra-aggressive and punch their opponent in the mouth right out of the gates. Will the ‘Boys respond?

      5. Bucs (7-3) @ Ravens (7-3), 4:15PM ET
      Tampa Bay still isn’t getting much respect but a win over the Ravens in Baltimore would certainly change that. The Ravens are a perfect 4-0 at home this year, however, and might be able to cool the white-hot Josh Freeman. That said, the Bucs now have a solid offensive core in Freeman, rookies Mike Williams and LeGarrette Blount, as well as tight end Kellen Winslow. Baltimore better be prepared because Tampa has been in nearly every game this year.

      CAPTAIN MORGAN Original Spiced Rum. Puerto Rican Rum With Spices And Other Natural Flavors. 35% Alc/Vol. ©2010 Captain Morgan Rum Co., Norwalk, CT. Drink Responsibly – Captain’s Orders!®

      External Sports, NFL

      Gerald Harris released from UFC

      November 24, 2010 /

      After losing just one fight during his tenure, middleweight Gerald Harris has been released from UFC according to Jeremy Botter of HeavyMMA.com.

      Harris was notified of his termination yesterday afternoon.

      Harris had won three straight fights in the Octagon after debuting with the promotion during the seventh season of “The Ultimate Fighter,” including two Knockout of the Night bonuses.

      Sources close to the promotion told Heavy.com that the decision to terminate Harris’ contract had to do with his lackluster fight with Maiquel Falco and the shrinking amount of roster spots in each division within the UFC after the addition of the WEC weight classes.

      Read more MMA headlines.

      External Sports, UFC

      Defensive Team By Waiver Wire (DTBWW): Week 12

      November 23, 2010 /
      NEW ORLEANS - OCTOBER 24: Marques Colston of the New Orleans Saints is tackled by Joe Haden , Scott Fujita and Eric Barton of the Cleveland Browns at the Louisiana Superdome on October 24, 2010 in New Orleans, Louisiana. The Browns defeated the Saints 30-17. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

      The strategy behind DTBWW is that each week you pick up a defense that is playing against a bad offense (preferably at home). And each week you get pretty good numbers out of your DT position.

      Last season, my top pick averaged 9.8 fantasy points per game. My second pick averaged 9.1 and my third pick averaged 7.3. On the whole, DTBWW averaged 9.3 fantasy points per game, which equate to DT5 numbers — all for the price of a few waiver wire pickups. In 2008, my top two picks averaged DT6-type numbers. (Note: To calculate fantasy points, I use this scoring system.)

      Unlike Defensive Team By Committee (DTBC), which is for those owners who prefer low maintenance teams, DTBWW strategy allows fantasy owners to virtually ignore DTs on draft day and focus on picking up an extra RB/WR flier instead.

      To be eligible, defenses have to be available on the waiver wire in at least 40% of ESPN fantasy leagues.

      Let’s see how my Week 11 picks fared:

      Continue reading »

      External Sports, Fantasy Football, NFL

      Strength of Schedule: Week 12

      November 23, 2010 /

      What am I looking at?

      Below you’ll see a table for each position with a list of team names on the left. If a square is pink, it means that the matchup is tough. If it’s green, it means it’s a favorable matchup. On the far right, the column “R16” shows the average SOS for the remaining weeks.

      It’s important to note that this is NOT straight fantasy points allowed. I removed the bias of schedule by looking at the opponents of each defense and how they fared in their other games. For example, if a particular defense faced a series of great QBs, then that is taken into account in these tables.

      How do I use these tables?

      Generally speaking, I use strength of schedule as a tiebraker between two similarly ranked players. Let’s say I’m trying to decide between starting Fred Jackson and Ronnie Brown. All else being equal, these two players are very close in my mind. But if Jackson has a great matchup and Brown has a bad matchup, the choice is clear. In fact, if Jackson just has a mediocre matchup while Brown has a bad matchup, I’d probably go with Jackson.

      Be careful not to read too much into these tables. You aren’t going to bench Chris Johnson in a bad matchup unless you somehow have Arian Foster waiting in the wings.

      Note: I apologize for the size of the text, but there really is no other way for me to present this data, at least not at this point.

      Continue reading »

      External Sports, Fantasy Football, NFL

      Yankees offer Cliff Lee six-years, $140 million?

      November 23, 2010 /
      Texas Rangers' pitcher Cliff Lee pitches against the San Francisco Giants during the eighth inning of game one of the World Series in San Francisco on October 27, 2010. UPI/Kevin Dietsch Photo via Newscom

      Tim Brown of Yahoo! Sports reports that the Yankees have offered free agent Cliff Lee a six-year deal worth around $140 million. If C.C. Sabathia’s contract in December of 2008 can be used in comparison, then Brown’s figures sound right.

      The Yankees signed Sabathia to a seven-year, $161 million contract in ’08. While Sabathia had two more years added onto his contract, he was also four years younger than Lee at the time of the deal. If Lee signs with the Bombers, that would mean the Yankees would be paying their top two pitchers roughly $46 million per year.

      Wowzers.

      That said, the Rangers are expected to match the Yankees’ offers, at least initially. But it’s hard to imagine that a team that had to be saved by Major League Baseball (financially, that is) would be able to come up with that kind of money for one player. At some point, the Rangers will have to bow out and hope that Lee bypasses more money for the opportunity to return to Texas.

      The Nationals are also reportedly interested in Lee and there are sure to be other suitors as well. But as I’ve written for the past couple of months, no team will be able to match what the Yankees offer. Thus, one would think that it’ll be between the Yankees and Rangers in the end. Why would he go anywhere else? He can either cash in a big payday and have an opportunity to win a ring every year, or take less and hope that the Rangers’ run in 2010 was no fluke.

      External Sports, MLB

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