Recap Tuesday

CO Giants-98
Roscoe Village Hot Dogs-97
Words cannot express the pain that was felt with 1:48 left in last nights game as the Philly defense gave up a touchdown to the Washington Redskins and costing the Hot Dogs a victory. The slide PG is coasting on is quite steep. Meanwhile Giant Mike has willed his way into a 3 way tie for first place in PG West.

Hoosier Heat-119
The Rockpile-98
Mr. Hackman is the official rainmaker of PG South, winning decisively against Bronco Mike and his Rockpile. Is there anything more impressive than Carson Palmer's 5 TD passes? The Rockpile sat Steve Slaton and paid the price. Wouldn't have helped, but it's nice to make the right calls.

Berwanger's Brawlers-113
Lawndale Longhorns-92
It's games like these that keep a man going. Don't look now, but the Brawlers are 1 game out of first place in PG North. His Dallas connection of Tony Romo and Dallas D were the difference in this one...and how about Donald Driver still putting out? Jerome Harrison? Ouch, that's gotta hurt, New Linc.

Tallcorn Cobras-90
Jimmy's Daddy-72
T-Dub is on a roll, and he wasn't gonna let the Daddy's rain on his parade. He dodged a bullet in starting Hightower over Beanie Wells, but DeAngelo Williams made up for the misstep. The Leon Washginton broken leg clearly hurts the Daddy's, and he might be in the market for a running back this week (3K, are you listening?).

Nigerian Nightmares-119
Rusty Trombones-110
DeSean Jackson....I mean...the Nigerian Nightmares defeated 3K and his Trombones this week, as he tries to keep pace in the white hot PG South. 3K is left scratching his head as he descends into an abyss of defeat. One might wonder what would have happened if the Trombones were still making sweet music with Aaron Rodgers? Word is 3K is scouring the countryside in search of a wide receiver. And early indications are he's not getting too far.

The Goat Locker-115
Chimps Gone Wild-77
An absolute orgy of points over at The Locker while the Chimps were swinging from the vines of mediocrity. A league leading 729 points make The Goats a formidable foe week in and week out. The scary part was he could have sat both running backs and still punched out 100 points. Is there any other receiver more disappointing than Lance Moore? Tough week for Frank Gore, but it's his first back from injury, so we'll see how he fares moving forward.

Matchup Friday

Found a great little site that features favorable matchups, so I thought I would post it here and give you guys a little food for thought going into the weekend.

Headlines
WR Michael Crabtree to play about half of the snaps on Sunday
RB Jerious Norwood out indefinetly
RB Marion Barber will play with fractured thumb
RB Sammy Morris doesn't make trip to London
QB Ryan Fitzpatrick will likely start for Bills

Worst Run Defenses (Opposing Running Backs)
26. St. Louis Rams (Joseph Addai-Donald Brown)
27. San Diego Chargers (Larry Johnson-Jamaal Charles)
28. Oakland Raiders (Thomas Jones-Leon Washington)
29. Carolina Panthers (Marshawn Lynch-Fred Jackson)
30. Cleveland Browns (Ryan Grant)
31. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Laurence Maroney-Kevin Faulk)
32. Buffalo Bills (DeAngelo Williams-Jonathan Stewart)

Worst Pass Defenses (Opposing QB,WR,TE)
24. Minnesota Vikings (Roethlisberger, Hines Ward, Santonio Holmes, Heath Miller)
25. Kansas City Chiefs (Rivers, Vincent Jackson, Antonio Gates, Darren Sproles)
26. Dallas Cowboys (Matt Ryan, Roddy White, Antonio Gonzalez)
27. St. Louis Rams (Manning, Reggie Wayne, Dallas Clark, Austin Collie)
28. Cincinnati Bengels (Cutler, Hester, Johnny Knox, Earl Bennett, Greg Olson)
29. Detroit Lions-BYE
30. Jacksonville Jaguars-BYE
31. Arizona Cardinals-(Manning, Steve Smith, Mario Manningham, Hakeem Nicks)
32. Tennessee Titans-BYE

Fox Sports Roger Rotter's Week 7 Top 20 Players
1. Peyton Manning, Ind (QB)
2. Drew Brees, NO (QB)
3. Tom Brady, NE (QB)
4. DeAngelo Williams, Car (RB)
5. Randy Moss, NE (WR)
6. Reggie Wayne, Ind (WR)
7. Adrian Peterson, Min (RB)
8. Thomas Jones, NYJ (RB)
9. Aaron Rodgers, GB (QB)
10. Matt Schaub, Hou (QB)
11. Philip Rivers, SD (QB)
12. Ben Roethlisberger, Pit (QB)
13. Larry Fitzgerald, Ari (WR)
14. Greg Jennings, GB (WR)
15. Andre Johnson, Hou (WR)
16. Roddy White, Atl (WR)
17. Marques Colston, NO (WR)
18. Michael Turner, Atl (RB)
19. Ronnie Brown, Mia (RB)
20. Frank Gore, SF (RB)

Fantasy Football Toolbox Start 'Em-
QB-Matt Cassell-Although the Chiefs won their first game of the season last week, Cassel wasn't at his best. Look for him to bounce back this week when he faces the San Diego Chargers.

RB-Laurence Maroney-Can it really be possible that Laurence Maroney might finally get a real chance to be a fantasy starter? Last week with Fred Taylor already out with an injury and Sammy Morris going down in the first quarter, Maroney stepped up and carried the ball 16 times for 123 yards and 1 touchdown to go along with 3 catches for 10 yards. So follow Morris's injury status this week and if he is out, then Maroney should be in your line-up.

RB-Ricky Williams-Even though Ricky is splitting carries with Brown, he has rushed for over 50 yards in 4 out of 5 games, to go along with 11 catches for 132 yards and has scored a touchdown in 3 out of 5 games. It seems it doesn't matter who the Dolphins play and if they are winning or losing, they will run the ball as often as they can. Look for another solid week from Ricky Williams.

WR-Miles Austin-Even if Roy Williams is back this week, Austin will be staying in the starting line-up and Romo will continue to look to him to make big plays. Get Austin in your line-up this week.

WR-Austin Collie-It took Collie a few weeks to get going, but over his last 2 games he has 14 receptions for 172 yards and 3 touchdowns as he gains Peyton Manning's confidence. This week the Colts face the St. Louis Rams, who can't seem to stop very much these days. Until Gonzalez comes back from injury, Collie should be a good start

BLOCKBUSTER THURSDAY

Mr. 3000 was looking for a suitor and by God he has found one. The Lawndale Longhorns send WR Michael Crabtree, Marshawn Lynch, and Cadillac Williams to the Rusty Trombones for Kenny Britt, Jerome Harrison, and Aaron Rodgers.

As of press time, both GM's were not available for comment. Hopefully we'll get a few words from them sometime today.

In the meantime, let's start armchair quarterbacking. Good deal? Bad deal?

Fantasy Football Daily

Great banter on the blog, lately. I like what I'm seeing. Here's a quick fantasy football update-

Weekly Schedule-
Hoosier Heat at Rockpile
Lawndale Longhorns at Berwanger's Brawlers
TallCorn Cobras at Jimmy's (or Ryan's) Daddy
Nigerian Nightmares at Rusty Trombones
Chimps Gone Wild at The Goat Locker
Roscoe Village Hot Dogs at CO Giants

Top 3 Free Agents-
1. Matt Cassell QB-80 fantasy points
2. Redskins D-69 fantasy points
3. Shaun Hill QB-63 points

Team's Top Performers
Berwangers Brawlers-David Gerrard-88 points
Chimps Gone Wild-Matt Schaub-144 points
CO Giants-Philip Rivers-96 points
Hoosier Heat-Adrian Peterson-104 points
Jimmy's Daddy-Drew Brees-125 points
Lawndale Longhorns-Maurice Jones-Drew-102 points
Nigerian Nightmares-Matt Ryan-96 points
The Rockpile-Kurt Warner-92 points
Hot Dogs-Joe Flacco-121 points
Rusty Trombones-Ben Roethlisberger-132 points
Tallcorn Cobras-Tom Brady-138 points
The Goat Locker-Peyton Manning-129 points

Team Rushing Touchdown Leaders
1.Hoosier Heat-14
The Rockpile-14
Lawndale Longhorns-14
4. The Goat Locker-13
5. Rusty Trombones-11
6. CO Giants-10
Hot Dogs-10
8. Tallcorn Cobras-9
Chimps Gone Wile-9
10. Berwangers Brawlers-8
11. Jimmy's Daddy-5
Nigerian Nightmares-5

Trash Talk Tuesday

Great day on the blog yesterday, boys. We had offers, anonymous folks trying to stir the pot, and finally a tit for tat dustup between two teams in the same division. You've gotta love fantasy sports!!! I'm actually curious to hear what the offer was, perhaps it'll leak to the press and be open up for scrutiny?

Lawndale Longhorns-100
Hot Dogs-96
Excruciating loss for the Hot Dogs. Turns out Kaeding had the opportunities, and took advantage. New Linc is back at the .500 mark.

Rockpile-109
Berwangers Brawlers-81
The climb continues for Bronco Mike, winning his second in a row.

Jimmy's Daddy-139
Rusty Trombones-85
The Daddy's take over PG North with a message sender!! Autodraft or not, could the Daddy's return to conversation as a force? The Trombones hang onto first in PG West (although ominous signs are beginning to take root).

Tallcorn Cobras-125
Chimps Gone Wild-71
After a slow start, T-Dub and his men are starting to make the turn, trying to make up some ground in the fabled PG South. As an aside, if the Chimps start Matt Schaub instead of Matt Hasselbeck, they're the winners this week.

Nigerian Nightmares-121
The Goat Locker-98
Big win for Old Linc this week, beating The Goat Locker is no small feat. Very tough pill to swallow for The Locker faithful. A win would have tied up PG West.

Hoosier Heat-94
CO Giants-76
Brandon Marshall and Philip Rivers throw up two duds, and the CO Giants lose their second in a row (and a critical matchup at that). Mr. Hackman is sitting pretty atop PG South and also has the best record in the league. Well done, sir.

Last Stand Monday

Hot Dogs-96
Lawndale Longhorns-87
Thanks to sophomore disaster (and 4th overall pick) Matt Forte, the Longhorns are 10 points away from a win. New Linc is hoping that Nate Kaeding's foot will split the uprights to victory. Looks like a nailbiter.

The Rockpile-109
Berwanger's Brawlers-81
With a 28 point lead (and Eddie Royal going tonight), the Rockpile has this one in the bag.

Jimmy's Daddy-132
The Rusty Trombones-68
Hef is nursing a whopping 64 point lead against a VERY RUSTY Trombones squad. 3K has Chargers D and Vincent Jackson, Hef has Antonio Gates. This could be the week The Daddy's reclaim first place.

Tallcorn Cobras-125
Chimps Gone Wild-71
This matchup is closed, chalk one up for T-Dub.

Nigerian Nightmares-121
The Goat Locker-98
Big win for Old Linc, stopping the skid.

Hoosier Heat-92
CO Giants-58
Giant Mike is still very much in this contest, down 34 points with Philip Rivers and Brandon Marshall going tonight. Let's hope they perform better than Big Blue's D...disgraciad!!

Wide Receiver Wednesday

This position has been, by far, the most unpredictable in fantasy football this year. And there really is no rhyme or reason to it. Great receivers are flops, relative unknowns are studs. It really is quite something. So I thought I would list the top 15 receivers in the league, the team that owns said player, fantasy points, and round they were drafted.

1. Steve Smith, CO Giants, 71 points, 9th round
2. Reggie Wayne, Hot Dogs, 68 points, 3rd round
3. Andre Johnson, Chimps Gone Wild, 65 points, 2nd round
4. Brandon Marshall, CO Giants, 51 points, 5th round
5. Miles Austin, Free Agent, 50 points, Undrafted
6. Mario Manningham, Hot Dogs, 50 points, Undrafted
7. Roddy White, Tallcorn Cobras, 50 points, Round 3
8. Nate Burlelson, Berwangers Brawlers, 49 points, Round 9
9. Chad Ochocinco, The Goat Locker, 49 points, Round 5
10. Larry Fitzgerald, Berwangers Brawlers, 48 points, Round 1
11. Vincent Jackson, Rusty Trombones, 48 points, Round 3
12. Hines Ward, Rusty Trombones, 46 points, Round 5
13. Mike Sims-Walker, Chimps Gone Wild, 43 points, Undrafted
14. Randy Moss, Jimmy's Daddy, 41 points, Round 2
15. Santana Moss, Nigerian Nightmares, 41 points, Round 8

A few observations...The best receiver in the league is a 9th rounder, the first receiver taken in the draft is the 10th ranked receiver, and three undrafted receivers are ranked in the top 15. Pretty interesting.

Fantasy Football Re-Cap

Hoosier Heat-89 (3-2)
Roscoe Village Hot Dogs-77 (4-1)
Perfect example of a GM not starting the right personnel. If Dwayne Bowe is in the lineup instead of Kelley Washington, the Hot Dogs take this matchup. Of course, Chris Cooley actually catching a pass would have helped as well. It was fairly close going into last night. Damn you, Teddy Ginn, damn you.

The Rockpile-106 (1-4)
Lawndale Longhorns-78 (2-3)
Bronco Mike's first win of the season was done in decisive fashion. Throwing up a 107 spot is nothing to sneeze at (wait, I think it actually IS something to sneeze at). "Wildcat" Ronnie Brown made the difference in this one, and the vaunted Jets defense manages to give up 31 points, 413 yards, and NO FANTASY POINTS. Lawndale Longhorns....zero...point....zero. The climb is steep for The Rockpile, but the first win of the season is always the hardest.

Berwangers Brawlers-73 (2-3)
CO Giants-72 (3-2)
This win by The Ger just warms my heart. Simply because I was picturing Giant Mike sitting on his couch begging for Mark Sanchez to throw Dustin Keller the ball. But it was not to be. The Yankees are going to the ALCS, Giant Mike, don't push your luck.

The Goat Locker-111 (3-2)
Jimmy's Daddy-62 (3-2)
The Battle of Lake Villa is boiling over, with both The Goat Locker and The Rusty Trombones vying for supremacy. This week, it was 3K who was stuffed in the locker. The high octane Goat Locker offensive went over the century mark again for a league leading 111. Ahmad Bradshaw came out of his cleats this weekend, and lead Team Goat to victory. When Michael Turner (who garnered 27 points this week) is sitting on your bench, you're doing a-ok. For the Daddy's, in a word, LACK-LUSTER. Amazingly, they are still tied for 1st in PG North after a Hot Dog loss. Hey Hef, when you negotiated that deal with the devil, did you opt out of the eternal damnation clause?

Tallcorn Cobras-110 (2-3)
The Rusty Trombones-55 )4-1)
PUT IT ON THE BOOOOOOOARD, YES!!!!! Big upset, upset of the week. T-Dub is hanging on in PG South with a big win over the high-powered Rusty Trombones (suffering their first loss of the season). 3K might claim bye week blues, but the Cobras rode this wave on the backs of Rowdy Roddy White and T.J. Howsyamutha. Judging by last night's Jet's gameplan, I'm wondering if 3K is cursing the Braylon Edwards trade?

Chimps Gone Wild-103 (2-3)
Nigerian Nightmares-75 (1-4)
I'm gonna say it right now, the Chimps are my dark horse candidate to win the whole darn thing this year. With Frank Gore out, the Chimps employed the "double points" strategy by starting Matt Schaub and Andre Johnson. And it worked, translating to 4 touchdowns. Gore will be back for Week 7, and it'll be interesting to see how many points the Chimps can put up. Meanwhile, this is the dog days of fall for the Nightmares. They just can't seem to get anything going. There's gotta be a trade out there that can jolt this team back into coherence.

Speaking of trades...where are they? I'm shocked we haven't seen a blockbuster yet. Is anyone in the market? Is anyone even sniffing?

Baseball Open Thread

How bad is Matt Holliday feeling today? That Nobel Prize worthy error could have possibly cost the Cardinals the series. And I don't care what anyone says, that caught him in the balls.

Since our fantasy baseball back and forth has reached spam proportions, let's use this as an open thread. So throw out your ideas, dreams, and fears (and at the same time stop filling up my inbox).

Rockpile at Lawndale Longhorns
CO Giants at Berwanger's Brawlers
The Goat Locker at Jimmy's (or Ryan's) Daddy
Rusty Trombones at TallCorn Cobras
Chimps Gone Wild at Nigerian Nightmares
Roscoe Village Hot Dogs at Hoosier Heat

How Is Your First Rounder Doing?

Hoosier Heat
Adrian Peterson-
412 rushing yards, 56 receiving yards, 5TD's
70 fantasy points

Lawndale Longhorns
Maurice Jones-Drew
296 rushing yards, 97 receiving yards, 5 TD's
64 fantasy points

The Goat Locker
Michael Turner
226 rushing yards, 5 receiving yards, 2 TD's
29 fantasy points

Roscoe Village Hot Dogs
Matt Forte
271 rushing yards, 92 receiving yards, 1 TD
39 fantasy points

Tallcorn Cobras
DeAngelo Williams
180 rushing yards, 84 receiving yards, 2 TD's
34 fantasy points

Jimmy's Daddy
Drew Brees
1031 passing yards, 9 TD's-2 INT, 108.4 passing rating
87 fantasy points

Nigerian Nightmares
Steven Jackson
367 rushing yards, 67 receiving yards, 0 TD
37 fantasy points

Chimps Gone Wild
Frank Gore
241 rushing yards, 57 receiving yards, 4 TD's
51 fantasy points

Berwanger's Brawlers
Larry Fitzgerald
181 receiving yards, 2 TD's
29 fantasy points

CO Giants
Chris Johnson
434 rushing yards, 117 receiving yards, 3 TD's
69 fantasy points

The Rockpile
Steve Slaton
192 rushing yards, 121 receiving yards, 2 TD's
35 fantasy points

The Rusty Trombones
LaDanian Tomlinson
70 rushing yards, 1 TD
10 fantasy points

Playoff Time

Is everybody ready for the playoffs (real life, not fantasy)? I, for one, have been waiting for this all season. A few points here-

How awesome was that Twins-Tigers game last night? Now, I don't think it was the greatest game I ever saw (as Orlando Cabrera intimated), but it was a dandy nonetheless. I wonder if the Tigers gave Ryan Raburn a seditive and a team of psychitrists for the plane ride back to Detroit?

I'm gonna be honest here, gentleman. I'm worried. Here's why...everybody is saying the mighty New York Yankees are going to cake walk into the World Series. The Twins are simply a road apple on their march to glory. They're tired from the late night flight to New York City after an exhausting season (and extra inning playoff game). Superstar C.C. Sabathia takes on rookie Brian Duensing in the opener. All the signs point to a massacre. I'm cautiously optimistic. But as I was telling 3K last night, Derek Jeter ALWAYS says it's not the best team that wins the World Series, it's the HOTTEST team. And right now, what team is on more of a roll than the Minnesota Twins? Whether you like to admit it or not, the Twins are already in playoff mode. They've been this way for weeks. Their mindset is there, the Yankees have been coasting since July.

Secondly, the Yankees bats tend to go cold when it matters most, the postseason. Here are the Yankees postseason batting averages for their last three appearances.

2007-.228
2006-.246
2005-.253

Do we have a new team? To some extent, but the cold bats are an issue in my eyes. Even more of an issue are certain players on the team that go cold. The most obvious is Alex Rodriguez, who has hit .267, .071, and .133 in his past three appearences. Johnny Damon (.278, .235, .231) and Hideki Matsui (.182, .250, .200). Also, don't forget Jeter hit .176 in his last postseason appearence, Posada hit .133, and Melky hit .188. I'm not saying this is going to happen, it just makes me worry.

On a side note, looks like Carl Pavano dodged a bullet, getting to pitch against Andy Pettite on Saturday in Minnesota. I'll bet he begged not to throw in the Bronx.

Now that I have bored everyone with Yankee talk, let's hear your post season predictions? Who advances to the ALCS/NLCS? World Series?

Points Leaders

1. CO Giants-439.00
2. Rusty Trombones-429.00
3. Chimps Gone Wild-406.00
4. The Goat Locker-405.00
5. Roscoe Village Hot Dogs-400.00
6. Lawndale Longhorns-343.00
7. Nigerian Nightmares-323.00
8. Tallcorn Cobras-311.00
9. Hoosier Heat-308.00
10. Ryan's Daddy-308.00
11. The Rockpile-293.00
12. Berwangers Brawlers-262.00

What is fascinating is the points dropoff between 5th and 6th place (57 point differential). In the words of shower hanger Michael Hutchence from INXS, it makes you wonder how the other half lives.

Final Baseball Rankings

Congratulations to Hef and Jimmy's Daddy, winner of the 2009 PG Sportsworld fantasy baseball league! In an absolute trouncing, the Daddy's took every category (save strikeouts) and show the Sportsworld that he is the undisputed champion.

So here we go, fellas, the final rankings for 2009. These will be used to determine next years draft order and will, of course, be used for end of the year fantasy points.

1. Jimmy's Daddy- $480.00
2. Client #9- $360.00
3. The Rockpile- $240.00
4. Tallcorn Cobras- $60.00
5. Hoosier Heat- $60.00
6. Clark & Addison
7. CO Yankees
8. Year 2000!
9. Lawndale Longhorns
10. Cornholers
11. Baby Gorillas
12. The SwinGERS

A few observations here....Yankee Mike and the CO Yankees went from 12th place to 7th place during the course of the playoffs. Congrats, Yankee Mike, what a climb!! Baby Bisho and his Client #9 team went from the 5 seed to the championship game and 2nd place. Well done, sir. On the opposite end of that, The SwinGERS went from 9th place to 12th place. Ouch!!

Give me a few days to get to the bank to get you guy's your money (since this is an account dedicated soley for the baseball league, I'll most likely be sending you a cashiers check). So if you are in the money, send me a quick e-mail with your home address.

I will also be calculating how many moves each team has made, and the costs associated. I'll post the amounts each team will have to send me.

HOME STRETCH

Jimmy's Daddy-6
Client #9-2
Tied-2
I think I know where this one is headed, as Baby Bisho is like Michael Rooker's girlfriend in the opening scene of Sly Stallone's "Cliffbreaker". In short, he's losing his grip. Hold on, Baby Bisho!!

The Rockpile-5
Tallcorn Cobras-3
Tied-2
My, how the mighty have fallen. Could Rocky Mike take the #3 slot and hand T-Dub his second loss in as many weeks? This one is very close though, the final chapter of this saga has yet to be written. Every at-bat (and pitch) counts.