Foray into the Land of Fantasy

This guy = still available

So last night I made my first entree into the world of fantasy football. Yes -- I know CDs are now available to replace my tapes as well. Anyway, we had a 10-team, 23-round snake draft last night. Took three hours (very painful). I've listed my team below, so let me know what you think. We have to play two QBs, 2 RBs, 4 WRs, 1 TE, 2 PKs and 2 defenses each week. My team will likely (hugely) suck, but such is life.



I am somewhat curious why the fantasy phenomenon never caught on at the college level. Especially since most leagues are not "keeper" leagues, college fantasy football would seem like a logical next step. Again, maybe people are playing it all over and it is just me that is missing it.

In other sports news....go Phillies. The rest of baseball becomes irrelevant as my Phils get closer to the wild card. I am headed to RFK (aka the worst stadium in the history of mankind) tonight to see them play the Nats.

Finally, I am flying into Chicago late Friday night and headed to SB early Saturday morning. Should be good times.

FF team:
QB: Carson Palmer, Chris Simms, Brad Johnson, Brian Griese
RB: Cadillac Williams, Willie Parker, Dominic Rhodes, Ahman Green
WR: Felonious Coles, Larry Fitzgerald, David Patten, Antwaan Randel El, Dante Stallworth, Amani Toomer, Mike Williams
TE: Alge Crumpler, Dallas Clark
PK: David Akers, Matt Bryant, John Hall
Defenses: Cowboys, Eagles, Vikings

Fearless predictions....which are sure to be wrong

In honor of the first week of the college football season (it begins Thursday!!), let's make some bold predictions for the results of this season. And by this season, I mean the Irish.

Here's how I see the season breaking down:

Game 1 at Georgia Tech: this game actually scares me a lot more than most of the rest. In Calvin Johnson, GT has one of (if not the best) wide receiver in college football. What was the biggest weakness in the Irish defense last year? Exactly. I think the Irish win this one, but it is a lot more nerve-racking than the Pitt game last year. Irish 35-24.

Game 2 home against Penn State: PSU was absolutely gutted by graduation. I understand that they are a traditional power and have a hell of a linebacking corps and some very talented sophomores, but Michael Robinson will be difficult to replace. Irish 28-14.

Game 3 home against Michigan: Michigan is a difficult team to evaluate because they always look better before the season than during it. Plus, the Irish tend to play Michigan well even when the team was down (anyone remember the game in '97?). We win this one and it is not going to be as close as people predict going in. Irish 31-UM 17.

Game 4 at Michigan State: MSU, for some cosmically ironic reason, has had our number for a long time. Weis will have the guys "revenge-motivated," but this game is still closer than any of us like. Plus, it will almost certainly be a shootout, which is notoriously dangerous to the favorite. Irish 42-MSU 31.

Games 5-11: Purdue and Air Force are the only opponents I think will give the Irish a game here. Those two always play us tough. The Irish win both of those though, and Stanford, UCLA, Navy, UNC, Air Force and Army might have an occassional close game mixed in, but I cannot predict we lose any of those.

That brings us into Los Angeles 11-0 to face a USC team that very well might be 11-0 themselves. I know they lost Leinart and Bush (and White, blah, blah, blah), but that team -- perhaps more than any other in the recent era -- really does reload rather than rebuild. If we do roll into LA 11-0, though, I find it hard to believe the karma gods stop this train. Irish 35-USC 28.

So I have the Irish at 12-0 (so does Herbsteit, by the way). Bowl game is another story to be dealt with in December.

Agree? Disagree? Complete homer-ism? Probably.

TGIF

Finally....it's Friday. Unfortunately, there is no "real" football to look forward to this weekend (although I am looking forward to the Steelers-Eagles preseason game this evening).


A couple of interesting developments out of South Bend today. First, the release of the depth chart. Thanks to ROM and The Observer.

Offense

QB: Quinn
Sharpley

RB: Walker
(Thomas)
Prince

FB: Schwapp
McConnell

WR: Samardzija
Grimes

WR: McKnight
Anastacio
West

TE: Carlson
Freeman

RT: Young
Duncan

RG: Morton
Mattes

C: Sullivan
(Morton)
Chervanick

LG: Santucci
Olsen

LT: Harris
Turkovich

Defense

L DE: Abiamri
Ryan or Brown

L DT: Laws
Leitko

R DT: Landri
Kuntz

R DE: Talley
Frome

SLB: M Thomas
Venaglia

MLB: Crum
T Smith

WLB: Thomas
Brockington

LC: Wooden
Walls

SS: Zbikowski
Herring

FS: Ndukwe
McCarthy or Bruton

RC: Richardson
Lambert or McNeil

Punter: Price

Kicker: Gioia
Burkhart

Kick Off specialist: Renkes
Burkhart

Punt returner: Zbikowski
Grimes
West

Kick off return: Grimes
West
Walls
Prince

A couple of observations here:

ROM makes a good point about the lack of depth in the junior class here (there are only 6 juniors in the two-deep). That point should not be lost in all the pre-season optimism. Even with the impressive talent Weis managed to bring in for next season, the senior class of next year (and hence the team) is going to be awfully thin. This undercuts those pundits out there (and yes, I'm talking about you Mark May and Jason Whitlock) who have argued that Ty did a terrific job in recruiting.

That position, frankly, is a load of crap. Let's not forget that Ty almost completely missed Quinn. It was Quinn's persistence and fortunate timing that landed him at Notre Dame. Taking credit for that catch is a bit like me taking credit a drive that hits a tree and bounces back into the fairway. In some cases, the end result is all that matters. It doesn't make me a good golfer, and it most certainly did not make Ty a good recruiter. On the upside, Ty spends so much time on the golf course that he probably would not have hit the tree.

The second interesting piece of news, again courtesy of The Observer, is that ND has banned bars and individual satellites from dorm rooms. I get the prohibition on bars, although I think the reasoning ND gives is more than a little flawed. Having a Guiness bar sign on your wall does not (necessarily) "glorify drinking." Nor does the simple act of having a bar in the corner. I understand the general line of thought, however. Maybe someone should look into those troublemakers from 3-East?

The ban on satellites seems like pure silliness. If students are willing to reimburse the dorm for any damage caused in mounting the satellite, the "electrical hazard" risk seems pretty light. Certainly less significant than, say, a portable hottub in the room. Or something like that.

Morning Musings

Random thoughts of the day:

• Scariest stalker ever? Pay special attention to the part where the girlfriend says a GPS device fell off her car.

• Blah, blah, blah, blah. I wish the endless stories on T.O. would finally stop. Maybe he'll get hit by a truck. Or simply melt in Dallas. I was there last weekend. That place is hotter than Satan's balls.
  

• I think the contention in this article that mobile quarterbacks are of value in the college game is sound, but this guy takes it way too far. If mobility were truly that important, why wouldn't ND be ranked 20th? Quinn is many things but a QB in the mold of Young or Vick, he is not.

• From the same page: enough photos of Laura Quinn. Please.

• A top 25 list of high school teams can be found here. Notable for its inclusion of Clausen's team, Oaks Christian, at #3.
  

Evening Rumblings

A few links and stories to read by the nighttable light this evening:

• Shockingly, Jason Whitlock decided to write an article that makes sense. After his insanity regarding the firing of Willingham, I know this may come as a quite a surprise to most of you. Of course, the article had to be about race, but at least this time his argument actually holds together.

• Carson Palmer will play in his first game on Monday. Anyone else think this ends badly?
  

• Fantasy draft alert: apparently Mike Vanderjagt might be in danger of not making the Cowboys. I find this one hard to believe.

• Finally, I heard an interesting story the other day from a friend of mine who is British and a huge World Cup fan. We were discussing soccer/football, which basically consisted of me peppering him with inane questions. He said that he had heard an explanation of the Zidane headbutt episode from one of his friends in Europe, and I thought I'd pass it along. Apparently, it was a not so well-kept secret that Zidane's wife was sleeping with one of the Italian players (we'll call him Player X). When Materazzi kept pulling his shirt, Zidane said "if you want my shirt I'll give it to you after the match." Materazzi's response was that if he wanted Zidane's shirt, he would just go to Player X's house. I have no idea if this is true, but it does bring up an interesting explanation for why neither Zidane nor Materazzi would reveal what was said on the pitch.

• Until tomorrow, cheers.
  

You'll take it.....and like it

So I received a very interesting question from Geaux Irish: "what would you do if you were in charge of college football for a day?" (I'm paraphrasing).

Hmmm....so many choices. Here are my top 5 in reverse order:

5. Eliminate the transfer rule where graduated players with eligibility remaining can transfer to a new program and play immediately. Florida has a cornerback from Utah this year under this program. I hate this rule. Virulently.

4. Require all colleges to house athletes with regular students for the first year. Sure, this will probably work for only a few months until the players begin simply camping out in each other's rooms. But I will tell you this -- I lived with a football player for the first semester freshman year, and it was a positive experience for both of us. Everyone complains that football players are too insulated and do not respect the rules that everyone else lives by. This can help alleviate that. Plus, it gives the regular students a chance at hooking up with the groupies.

3. 50% of every college stadium should be reserved for the students (unless the school does not have enough students to fill 1/2 of the stadium; at that point 100% of students should be guaranteed tickets). Can you imagine going to one of the huge state schools and not being able to go to each football game as an undergrad? 50% gives everyone the opportunity to see some of the games. Sounds fair to me.

2. Eliminate the "down when the knee touches" rule. I always hate when a player slips in the open field and the play ends there. It is a silly rule that inevitably ends up killing a team sometime during the year. Although it does lead to some hilarious results at the next level. Anyone else recall Plaxico Burress catching a first down for the Steelers and then spinning the ball like a top? Nice fumble, jackass.

1. Instant replay for all games -- or none. Presuming that it is handled correctly (i.e. the NFL), I am an instant replay fan. The idea of having it available for some games and not all is just silly, though. Almost every game is televised by someone somewhere; use those tapes for the IR.

Your thoughts?

Preseason Top 25

Here is my preseason Top 25. Keep in mind a couple of things when reviewing the list. First, this is not an attempt to predict order of finish. Rather, this is what is commonly referred to as a "power ranking." That is, this is the order of the best teams as I see them (not who will win the national championship). If I was ranking who I thought had the best chance of going undefeated, West Virginia would obviously be at the top since they play in the AAA of D-IA football.

Second, it is a strange year in college football. There is no clear-cut favorite to win it all and every one of the teams in the top 10 has some issues to overcome. Let me know what you think.

Top 25

Numbers 1-10 with explanations

1. Ohio State: I know they need to replace 9 starters on defense but I simply cannot get past what tOSU did to ND in the Fiesta Bowl. The game was a lot more lopsided than the final score. Btw, I watched that game via satellite in Jamaica. That island is still pissed at me for the damage I did to the hotel room following that debacle.

2. Texas: scary team even without Vince Young. Obviously, either tOSU or UT loses early, but -- again -- this is not a predicted order of finish. There is a lot of NFL talent on this team.

3. LSU: a stacked team. Like all SEC schools, though, they play an absolutely brutal schedule. I may end up looking like a moron when they season is over because this team could go undefeated or have three losses.

4. Auburn: see LSU

5. Notre Dame: possibly the best offensive team in the country. Heisman candidate at quarterback. But.....defense was atrocious, despite what many ND fans have talked themselves into. I watched every one of the ND games last year. People seem to forget that Stanford almost beat ND. They stay at #5 until the defense proves it can hold good opponents under 500 yards.

6. USC: new QB but lots of talent. Hard to evaluate given the soft schedule the Pac-10 has historically provided. Won't really know about this time until late in the year.

7. West Virginia: can run on almost anyone. The real question will be can they pass?

8. Florida: Will this be the year Chris Leak gets it?

9. Louisville: The only team in the top 10 with 2 legitimate Heisman contenders. If they beat Miami early, watch out.

10. Cal: early game at Tennessee will answer a lot of questions

Numbers 11-25

11. Florida State
12. Miami
13. Oklahoma
14. Michigan
15. Iowa
16. Georgia
17. Penn State
18. Nebraska
19. Virginia Tech
20. Oregon
21. Tennessee
22. Clemson
23. Arizona State
24. TCU
25. Georgia Tech

Morning Musings

If you've got ten minutes today, read this story. Not only is it a heck of a piece, but the guy involved also happens to be from Evansville, where I grew up. I don't know what he's talking about with the "no stoplights" crack, though. We had at least two or three.

For those of you interested in reading a really fresh take on ND sports, check out www.rakesofmallow.com. It's written primarily by two current ND students and is worth a look. If nothing else, it's always nice to see the perspective of a student during an uptick in ND's football status (this differs just a bit from my experiences there during the Davie years).

ESPN officially jinxed my Phillies here. Thanks guys.

How is it possible to score ten runs in the first inning and lose? You really suck, that's how.

Preview of the Top 25 coming later today.

Caveat Emptor and then some

Want to go to a game here? Not a chance

It may be a simple case of my own naivete, but I did not realize the level and magnitude of the ticket scams currently being perpetrated on EBay and Craigslist. This is particularly true for anyone currently searching for Notre Dame tickets. The most current version of the scam on Ebay is the theft of a valid Ebay ID (generally with perfect or near-perfect feedback) and then an offer of tickets at "buy-it-now" prices considerably below market value.

For example, PSU-ND tix are currently going for between $600 and $1000 per ticket. The fraudulent offers are generally for four tickets for around $850. What makes the scam particularly enticing is that $850 for four tix is still significantly above face value (and thus the offer cannot be totally discounted as ridiculous).

Without fail, however, the scams all have a few things in common. First, the person selling the tix always has some sob story about how they are stuck in Europe, or Canada, or Timbuktu, and cannot make it back to the game. Or they are selling them for their boss. Or they won the tickets in some lottery (obviously not an ND person; no one wins anything in that lottery).

Another similarity is the use of an e-mail address other than the one listed for the seller. ilovetixx@yahoo.com was one of the most recent additions. Also noteworthy is the use of the same section and row in many of these offers (i.e. Section 105, row 22). Finally, they never want to meet in person to hand over the tickets nor will they take a credit card.

Craigslist is a simpler scam due to the lack of feedback contained in any offer. There the scam artists are involved in a basic cash grab involving a wire transfer. Good times.

Anyway, hope this helps any of you out in the market for tickets to big games this year.

Bonds = Satan?

Due to the scant real news involving college football right now, I thought I'd tackle an interesting article from ESPN today. In the article, Jeff Pearlman argues rather strongly that (1) Barry Bonds is an evil human being and (2) that Barry should admit his alleged steriod use in the hope that it will somehow prevent the two San Francisco Chronicle writers, Mark Fainaru-Wada and Lance Williams, from going to jail for refusing to divulge who leaked grand jury testimony regarding Bonds to them.

Point (1) is pretty much a given. If someone who cheats at his occupation, cheats on his wife and lies to federal authorities were anyone other than an extremely talented record-setting sports star, we would all readily agree that said person was a miserable human being. You readily condemn "that guy" you know at work who cheats on his expense reports while also trying to pick up the waitress during happy hour. Let's not pretend Bonds is any different here.

Point (2), however, is much more interesting. Let's put aside whether such an admission would spare the writers the Oz-like fate they are facing. The result of such an admission is not relevant to the larger issue. Print journalists are currently decrying the persecution of the two writers by claiming "freedom of the press" and making analogies to Watergate and the Pentagon Papers. Please. Such an argument cheapens not only what the reporters who broke those stories went through but also the idea of a "free press."

The government is not after the two reporters for the information they wrote in the newspaper while ostensibly doing their jobs. Rather, the government wants to know who leaked the grand jury testimony to the reporters, which the reporters put into a book. I have not heard that the reporters wrote the book for free. The government wants to know who broke the law and gave the reporters information that they subsequently wrote a profitable book about. Doesn't seem unreasonable to me. Someone explain to me how this is different from insider trading.

And please stop with the comparisons to Watergate and the Pentagon Papers. Those were issues where the government itself was lying to the public and serious issues of national security were involved. Everyone does not have the right to know everything.

The serious issue here is not what was said at the grand jury but that it did not remain secret. The judicial system has lots of problems -- but one of the good things about it is the ability of people to testify truthfully before a grand jury without fear of having their testimony published.

Entry into Blogosphere

For those of you who somehow managed to find this blog...welcome. The purpose of this blog is to comment on sports (and other) stories that are interesting, amusing or just plain weird. Hopefully you'll get some amusement out of the blog itself; if not, try not to mention it.

I intend for this blog to focus mainly on the college sports world for a couple of reasons. First, I tend to follow college sports pretty closely -- particularly in the fall. I hope this translates into (reasonably) intelligent opinions. Second, skewered college athletes are less likely to sue.

I'll be back with the first real post shortly.