Now that those lazy Sunday’s with our eyes glued to the TV set are just around the corner, the one thing that makes that experience a little bit more interesting is Fantasy Football and while we all have our hearts set on getting that No.1 pick/Adrian Peterson, getting a guy late in the draft that makes a big impact is just as exciting.
I’ll go through my top pick and sleeper for each position so you can all keep a close eye on your draft boards when the time comes
QUARTERBACKS
Drew Brees (New Orleans Saints) – In his 3 seasons at New Orleans Brees has thrown for 13,910 yards and has 88 touchdowns to his name. You can expect Brees to have another big season with his solid receiving crew with Marques Colston and the versatile Reggie Bush returning from injury. I’ve picked this guy up the last 2 seasons and he has done wonders for me. He has not missed a game since playing for the Saints and he has been a consistant player.
Other top picks: Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Donovan McNabb, Kurt Warner, Tony Romo
QB Sleeper Pick
Mark Sanchez (New York Jets) – Yes I know he is a rookie and all but the signs in camp so far have been positive for him and I believe if/when he gets the starting job, he will play pretty well. While he may not have the greatest weapons on offence, he has a good front five in front of him for protection and i really think that will be the difference between Sanchez and Stafford.
Other sleeper picks : Trent Edwards, Carson Palmer, Jason Campbell, Jake Delhomme, Matthew Stafford, Matt Ryan
RUNNINGBACKS
Adrian Peterson (Minnesota Vikings) – Surprised? This kid is the real deal, I honestly don’t see why these Fantasy Football sites dont just automatically send him to the team with the first overall pick…..ok ok I know it depends on how your league is set up but he should be #1 in 99.9% of the draftboards. His only downside I can see is that he doesn’t get a whole lot of receiving yards but his rushing stats more then make up for that. I was honoured to get him in one of my leagues last season and I was smiling all season long
Other top picks : Frank Gore, Matt Forte, Brian Westbrook, Michael Turner
RB Sleeper Pick
Reggie Bush (New Orleans Saints) – I’ve noticed him drop pretty low in the draftboards so far but I think this will be his breakout year. We saw some great highlights from him last season until he was struck by injuries. If he manages to stay healthy all season long, his versatility and athleticism will get you plenty of points week in and week out.
Other sleeper picks – Julius Jones, Knowshon Moreno, Cedric Benson
WIDE RECEIVERS
Larry Fitzgerald (Arizona Cardinals) – Everyone finally relised how good a receiver Fitzgerald is and it will be well worth to take him if you have the chance. His size and athleticsm puts him above most receivers and the fact that Anquan Boldin is on the other side means defenses can’t just focus on the one receiver.
Other top picks: Andre Johnson, Randy Moss, Reggie Wayne, Calvin Johnson, Steve Smith
WR Sleeper Pick
Anthony Gonzalez (Indianapolis Colts) – I’ve been a fan of his since he entered the league in 2007 and now that he is a full time starter I expect really big things from him. With Manning at the helm and Reggie Wayne getting most of the attention I really think this is a great pickup. Gonzalez is very quick and athletic and has played very well as the backup WR so far.
Other sleeper picks: Donnie Avery, Eddie Royal, Torry Holt, DeSean Jackson, Derrick Mason, Devin Hester
TIGHT ENDS
Jason Witten (Dallas Cowboys) – Witten and Romo have the best connection out of any QB/TE combo and Witten’s stats are a testiment to that. Now with T.O. gone, a bit more ball may go his way and I’m certain he will have another great season.
Other top picks: Tony Gonzalez, Antonio Gates, Owen Daniels, Dallas Clark
TE Sleeper Pick
Dustin Keller (New York Jets) – While TE isn’t a high concern for most owners, I thought I’d go with a guy who should be around towards the end of the draft. Keller had a good rookie year and should be a very good target for Sanchez and/or Clemens. With a bit more experience I think he will be a more consistent and better player and definately worht picking up if still available in the last couple of rounds.
Other sleeper picks: Jeremy Shockey, Anthony Fasano, Visanthe Shiancoe, Vernon Davis
KICKERS
Kickers are probably the least important position as there are a lot of good kickers and even then you don’t really start picking up these guys until rounds 7-8. Always keep in mind of form and if you can weather conditions for the games as there should always be good free agent kickers available.
The kickers you should think about getting as your starters are: Rob Bironas(Titans), Stephen Gostkowski(Patriots), David Akers(Eagles), Kris Brown(Texans)
DEFENCE
Pittsburgh Steelers – Great defensive team and what looks like a pretty easy schedule for them this season. This defence just works well and puts the hurt on opposing offences. The round to pick the D really depends on how your league is set up, so make sure to check the points chart and see whether it is worth forking out an early/mid pick for a great defence.
Other top picks: Baltimore Ravens, Tennessee Titans, Philadelphia Eagles, Minnesota Vikings, New York Giants
Defence Sleeper Pick
New England Patriots – A few new faces from what we’ve been accustomed too but you can’y deny the patriots as being a great all-round franchise. The offence should offer more ball control and scoring pressure while the experience on defence should make them one of the top D’s in the league.
Other sleeper picks: Green Bay Packers, San Diego Chargers
All the best of luck to all you fantasy owners out there and lets get ready for some FOOTBALL!!!
While most of the world is still trying to get back on it’s feet from the economic crisis, sports teams such as Real Madrid turn the other cheek and spend spend spend. This has been an off-season to remember with two of the biggest names in world soccer coming over to the Spanish side in record breaking deals. The Brazil and former AC Milan superstar Kaka was the first to join after Milan accepted a deal worth €65m.
After that deal I’m sure most people thought that was it, but Real Madrid had more players on their mind and more money to spend. After a long saga of rumours, on 26 June Manchester United accepted a deal for Cristiano Ronaldo worth roughly €93m. Even after these two big transfers, Real were not afraid to spend a little more money as they picked up young Frenchmen Karim Benzema from French side Lyon for €35m
Needless to say it has been a huge off-season and now we have to wait a few more weeks to see this stacked side play in competition. It will be interesting to see if all of this will pay off as their rivals Barcelona have also made some moves this off-season and look to defend their treble from last year which included the La Liga, Spanish Cup and Champions League.
M2’s second installment of Vintage Game of the Week seemingly renders the first installment “Vintage Game of the Month”. Apologies are in order for any eager readers that had to deal with my inherent slackness.
This week, we take a peek at one of the more fierce rivalries of the 1990’s. Two athletic, powerful teams in New York and Miami square off for a thrilling clash anchored by their big men, and two of the better centers of all time in Alonzo Mourning and Patrick Ewing. This wrap features the likes of Tim Hardaway, one of the great talents of the generation and responsible for your crush on Chris Paul.
Accompanying the presensce of Tim are Grandmama Larry Johnson, sharp shooters Dan Majerle & Allan Houston, and triple threat Jamal Mashburn. If those names, coupled with Voshon Lenard, P.J Brown, Bruce Bowen, Chris Childs, and John Starks don’t convince you that these teams were beasts, perhaps the digits 61 & 57 in the win columns will.
Pat White is no stranger to criticism and doubt. He’s basically dealt with it for nearly half a decade. In high school, in college, and now in the NFL. And he’s proved them wrong every time.
Coming out of high school, White was a highly recruited player, being pursued by top teams like Auburn, LSU, Kentucky and Mississippi State. But none of those teams thought that White could play QB at the college level. They either wanted him as a defensive back or a wide receiver or something of the sort. No one thought he had the talent to play QB. Until West Virginia came along. Former WVU coach Rich Rodriguez offered White a chance to play QB for the Mountaineers in his spread offense, and White graciously accepted.
Pat White had passed up a 6 figure salary with the Anaheim Angels, who had drafted him in the 4th round of the 2004 MLB Entry Draft, to play for the Mountaineers, so naturally Rich gave him plenty of playing time. Pat spent his Freshman season sharing time with Adam Bednarik up until the seventh game of the season. With West Virginia down 24-7 in the 4th Quarter, Pat White replaced a injured Bednarik to lead WVU to a 46-44 triple overtime victory. Pat White eventually led WVU to a 11-1 record and a BCS Bowl win over the heavily favored University of Georgia.
This wasn’t White’s only accomplishment though, together with Steve Slaton, Pat White became part of one of the most dynamic and feared duos in college sports. During White’s tenure at WVU, he set many records and became one of the greatest QBs in college football history and becoming the greatest running QB in history as well. He set the record for most rushing yards by a QB in a NCAA career, was a two-time Big East Offensive Player of the Year, was an All-American, a 3 time bowl MVP, and led the Mountaineers to a 4-0 record in bowl games, a feat no other starting QB has ever done. Yet with all these accomplishments, there was still doubt about him playing QB in the NFL.
After his Senior season, Pat White was named the Senior Bowl MVP and intended to attend the combine as a QB, and not a WR as many “experts” had predicted, the most notable being ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr., who had said that Pat White will not be able to play QB at the NFL level. Of course they had good reasons to think so. Pat White is a small QB. He’s only 6 feet tall and weighs only 197 pounds. Not to mention he’s a rare lefty QB. Nonetheless, he received an invitation to the NFL Combine, and he shined. Pat White had one of the best combines for any participant, and had the best combine performance by a QB, co-winning the General Motors Top Combine Performer. Even with all this, people still doubted him. ESPN still listed him as a WR. Mel Kiper continued to say that the only position he would be playing in the NFL would be WR.
Draft day came around, and in the second round Pat White was selected by the Miami Dolphins with the 44th overall pick. It seemed obvious that Miami was bringing him in for the Wildcat formation and to essentially turn that into a spread offense. Yet Mel Kiper still said that he would only play WR for the Dolphins and take a few snaps in the Wildcat if he was lucky. All this talk came to a close when a Dolphins official stated that Pat White would run the Wildcat formation and even compete with Chad Henne and Chad Pennington for the starting job.
So what have we learned in the past half-decade? What have we learned from watching countless amounts of his games? What has he taught us? Simple. Don’t ever doubt him, because when you do doubt Pat White, you just look like an idiot. Why? Because he is the master of proving the world wrong, especially when only his team’s home state, West Virginia, believes in him.
FC Barcelona is one of the most prestigious football clubs in the world. It always seems to at the top of La Liga and seems to always be stacked with talent. Yet it always had it’s share of ups and downs. Especially recently.
Barcelona was at the top of the world after the 2005-2006 season. They had won La Liga and the Champions League. Ronaldinho was coming off a poor performance at the World Cup, but at the time none of that really mattered. They were still at the top of the world and intended to stay there. But just like that, open fueds began in the club. Everything seemed to be going downhill so suddenly. Many people would blame the U.S. Preseason tour for many of the club injuries that year to star players like Eto’o and Messi throughout the season. Ronaldinho was being criticized for supposedly partying all night and being out of shape. Despite this they remained in first place most of the season, as if they were simply ignoring the strife when they were on the pitch. It all seemed too good to be true as all this open fueding and strife within the club caused a late season breakdown which saw them lose their first place standing and the La Liga. They eventually went trophyless in the 2006-2007 season.
The next season saw much of the same, though during the offseason Barcelona seemed to be favorites after picking up Thierry Henry. This line up of Henry, Ronaldinho, Messi, and Eto’o was one of the best in the world as they had 4 of the top offensive players in the world on their roster. However, internal strife would once again make an appearance to hinder Barcelona. Ronaldinho’s poor performance due to poor fitness showed even more than usual on the field. Fans even went as far as to boo him, causing even more strife. Even lockers had been divided more that usual, of course they usually divided into language/country groups with all the negativity surrounding Barça it created a far worse atmosphere than usual. With injuries and inconsistency throughout the season, Barça ended up in 3rd in La Liga, losing both games to their rivals, Real Madrid, the second game being a 4-1 loss.
As the dismal performances of late began to escalate, many called for the firing of Coach Frank Rijkaard, and that’s just what they did. Rijkaard was sacked and Barça B coach Josep “Pep” Guardiola took over Barça. In the preseason a motion of no confidence was raised against Joan Laporta, the club’s president. The motion ended up recieving 60% support, 6% short of the required amount. Eight of his directors then resigned, unhappy with the performance and handling of Barça as of late. Laporta then responded by getting rid of a few trouble players such as Ronaldinho, Deco, and Edmilson while obtaining Seydou Keita, Gerard Pique, and Dani Alves among others. This extensive rebuilding process left many unsure of what Barça was going to do in the coming season.
The season didn’t exactly start out to well for Barça, getting only a draw and a loss in their first two games. Despite the poor start the club and coach remained positive and confident en route to a 9 game winning streak and a 20 game streak in which they did not lose a game. This rejuvenated Barça has set many records and has many believing that they are the best club in the world due to their dominance. On January 17th, 2009, Barça set a new La Liga record for points in the first half of La Liga play, getting 50 of a possible 57 points. The club has even reached the Copa Del Rey finals for the first time since 1998. Also six days later on January 23rd, Barça was ranked first in the IFFHS’s list of the greatest football clubs in the past 18 years. They even handed Real Madrid one of their worst losses at home in a 6-2 rout.
There is no doubt that Barça is on a high right now, just like they were a few years ago in their years of back to back La Liga championships. The question is, will the ups and downs continue? Or is Barça finally here to stay at the top? I’d like to think that Barça is done with their internal strife and fueding for a few years, but you never know.
