To call the weekend football games disappointing would be an understatement. To call them disheartening wouldn’t quite be enough. To call them a disaster – now we are getting close. The Colorado Buffaloes and Deion’s boys faced off against tenth-ranked Oregon in Eugene. The Buffs showed up with their usual swagger – dancing on the opposing team’s logo and talking trash. But in the end, it would be Oregon dancing in the endzone, and letting their performance do the talking for them. Oregon coach Dan Lanning screamed in his opening speech to the team – “They’re fighting for clicks.... Read More

The National Football League kicked off on Thursday, and as usual, it failed to disappoint. In Kansas City, Travis Kelce was dropped from the lineup, Kadarius Toney dropped everything in sight, and the Detroit Lions dropped the defending Super Bowl Champions. In Denver, the Broncos are kicking themselves after losing to the Raiders in Sean Payton’s coaching debut. And in New York, Aaron Rodgers will still be playing with the Jets – but that’s assuming the team’s rehab facility comes with a hot tub. A look at the wacky first week of the NFL. • Tony! Toni! Tone! Has done it again.... Read More

Historically speaking, the running back position has always dominated the first round of any Fantasy Football draft room. The logic is sound. A quality running back receives more opportunities (overall touches) than any other player besides the quarterback. A quality running back piles up fantasy points by running the football, catching the football, and generally due to goal-line situations, even scoring the football. And while there are hundreds of quality wide receivers to fill your draft board, there are only a handful of running backs that are so successful in what they do – they avoid... Read More

The All-Madden Team was named after former Oakland Raider coach, and sportscaster great, John Madden. It celebrated the attributes that Madden looked for in his players. Toughness, grit, and determination. The All-Maddening Team is completely different. The name – purely coincidence. The All-Maddening Team is a regretful look at the players you drafted in your fantasy league and the maddening decisions that were made. More mistakes than Nathaniel Hackett. More misses than Rodrigo Blankenship. More bad picks than Joe Burrow. Meet the team, and the players that are ruining your season. Quarterbacks... Read More

By the time the 2021 Fantasy Football season had ended, my team looked like a MASH unit. Cooper Kupp had helped me secure the number one seed for the playoffs, but my players were dropping like flies. Derrick Henry was rehabbing, DeAndre Hopkins was sidelined, and Lamar Jackson had to be replaced by Washington quarterback, Taylor Heincke. I lost big. But last year’s squad was like a Taco Bell Chalupa. It looked good on the surface and tasted pretty good at the time. But after the fact, all I was left with was unhealthy ingredients, pain, and regret. Instead of the Chalupa, this year’s... Read More

John Wooden once said, “Failing to prepare, is preparing to fail.” In the world of Fantasy Football, failing to meet expectations, is expecting to fail.  So, when DeAndre Hopkins brought in only 13 receptions in his first three games while nursing a questionable hamstring, I expected my Fantasy Team to suffer greatly, while preparing to fail. The Las Vegas (Will always be Oakland to me) Raiders let me down as well, as my RB2 running back Josh Jacobs missed game two with a hamstring issue.  I replaced him with his backup Kenyan Drake, a standard Fantasy Football maneuver. Drake ran for a total... Read More

A recipe for success is just that.  A recipe. The following is a recipe, a guide, a road map if you will, that if properly executed without unforeseen circumstances will make you the envy of any office, a future playoff participant, and possibly even a 2021 Fantasy Football League Champion! But back to that unforeseen circumstance line. Failing to check the inactive list.  Forgetting to substitute a player during their bye week.  Those are foreseen. But if the recipe calls for ripe tomatoes, fresh cilantro, and a hint of parmesan.  And you get Christian McCaffrey for only three games, Dak Prescott... Read More

If you feel that the title was somehow misleading, I apologize.  The objective of a headline is to generate interest, tease with curiosity, and lure with creative word choice.  As a reader, you probably expected a synopsis of the year’s most powerful stories, not actual headlines. That reminds me of a story I wrote a few years ago ranking which NBA lineup had the best trio of players.  The article was titled, “Everybody Loves a Threesome”. Call it a reflection of the work created over the past year, a chance to smile thinking about the absurdity that was 2020, or simply just a way to recycle... Read More

It’s Saturday morning, week six of the Fantasy Football season as I grab my coffee and open up my computer.  Like most teams, I’ve been decimated by injuries as I search for a replacement for a banged-up wide receiver, a kicker lost to the bye week, and any other bargains I can find among the add/drop menu. Losing Courtland Sutton to a season-ending injury and having Dalvin Cook miss a game due to a groin pull isn’t helping things, but I’m not alone.  With injuries to players like Christian McCaffrey, Saquon Barkley, and Dak Prescott, the entire league is spending countless work hours... Read More

The National Basketball Association recently announced its All-NBA Team comprised of what is considered to be the best five players at each position during the 2019-20 regular season.  The league went on to name a Second Team All-NBA, a Third Team All-NBA, and they were just getting started. There was an All-Defensive Team, an All-Rookie Team, and even an All-Bubble Team filled with players that just happened to excel during their limited time in the Orlando bubble. I now give you the All-Injury Team. Whether it’s the lack of conditioning due to COVID-19 restrictions, a lack of readiness due... Read More