Sunday, November 30, 2008

Back On The Field With Some Updates

It as been a while since I posted. I was gone for a week hence no Fantasy Football Tuesday for last week. Look for that this coming Tuesday. I am also hoping to post a little more consistently in a few weeks when I get a new laptop. I'm excited to have a laptop that doesn't overheat and shut off in a few minutes and not have consistent work on.

There are some quick highlights I want to hit on:

NFL: I'm excited still about the Titans. Yes, they lost to the Jets but came back to stomp the Lions on Thanksgiving Day. 11-1 is still a great record and one not to sneeze at. Hopefully they will finish strong and secure that #1 spot and homefield throughout the playoffs.

College Football: It was bittersweet for Philip Fulmer in his last game on Saturday. He was a great coach but at the same time there was a need for a change. It will be interesting to see how things shape up after that but at least the last game of the season was a win.

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Fantasy Football Tuesday: Week 11 Edition

It's time for Fantasy Football Tuesday: Week 11 Edition. This was another critical week as teams vie for playoff spots and positioning. This week as I went 2-1 in the three highlight leagues. Here's the breakdown for Week 11 and the look ahead to Week 12...

Breakdown:

In the Speed Kills league, the K.C. Masterpieces have now won three in a row for the second time this season as they eeked by The Rainmaker 96.12 to 95.62. The Masterpieces held off a late charge by Marion Barber's huge Sunday Night performance to secure the victory in the closest matchup of the week in the league. With this win, the Masterpieces keep pace with the leader at only one game out of first place. The leading scorers for the Masterpieces were Eddie Royal, Jay Cutler, Wes Welker and Tampa Bay DEF. After Week 11, I'm in 2nd place with a record of 7-4.

In the League of Fantasy Footballers, the Kansas City Chefs now have a team high four game winning streak as they defeated Eskimo Army soundly by the score of 90.48 to 68.14. With this win, the Chefs avenge an early season loss to the Army and keep pace with the leaders in the league. With the win, the Chefs go to three games above .500 for the first time all season and two back from the leader with two games to go. The leading scorers for the Chefs were Maurice Jones-Drew, Anquan Boldin, Tennessee DEF and Hines Ward. After Week 11, I'm in 4th place (essentially tied for 3rd) with a record of 7-4.

In the Young Guns league, the Kansas City Perkalators lost a heart breaker to divsion leading Louisville Express by the score of 97-72. The Perks couldn't muster up enough of a comeback with RB Jamal Lewis going on Monday night to get the win. The Perks are now tied for 2nd in the division and are on the outside looking in of the championship playoff bracket as it stands right now. Leading scorers for the Perkalators were LaDanian Tomlinson, Philadelphia DEF, Hines Ward and Greg Jennings. After week 10, I'm tied for 2nd place in Division 1 with a record of 6-4-1.

Outlook for Week 12:

In the Speed Kills league, the K.C. Masterpieces (7-4) will look to bring the winning streak at four games as they take on Headhunters (6-5). The Masterpieces will look to avenge a Week 1 loss to the Headhunters along with trying to keep pace with the division leader. No team has clinched a playoff spot yet and three games separate the number 1 team with the number 9 team with three weeks to go. Key matchup will be the QB position (Jay Cutler vs. Donovan McNabb). As of right now, Yahoo is predicting the Masterpieces as the favorite.

In the League of Fantasy Footballers, the Kansas City Chefs (7-4) will look keep the winning streak going as they take on The Infirmary. This is a rematch against old rival and friend Steve from earlier in the season. In that game the Chefs came away with the victory. The race for the playoffs is tightening up. Two teams have qualified which leaves four spots available. Right now there are five teams playing for four spots along with playing for seeding. Key matchup will be at the TE position (Antonio Gates vs. Tony Gonzalez). As of right now, Yahoo is predicting the Chefs as the favorite.

In the Young Guns league, the Kansas City Perkalators (6-4-1) will look to bounce back with a win as they square off against Tulsa bullMoosen (4-6-1). This is a critical game for the Perks as they are looking to get back into the Championship bracket with only two games in the regular season left. This is a very critical game. Key matchup will be at the DEF position (Philadelphia vs. Indianapolis). As of right now, ESPN is predicting the Perkalators as the favorite.

That's all for this week. Tune in next Tuesday for another installment of Fantasy Football Tuesday.

Friday, November 14, 2008

Sad Times In Seattle Sports

I feel for my "second" home of Seattle right now. Sportswise it is a very dark time. The Mariners finished in last place this past season with a horrible record. The Seahawks are struggling through a dismal season. The U-Dub football team is winless. And the team which shall not be named was moved to Oklahoma City. To be a Seattle sports fan is hard right now.

And to add insult to injury, recently "Tuba Man" passed away. For those not familar with him, he was a guy that would set up outside of Safeco Field or Qwest Field or Key Arena (depending on the season) and would play the tuba. You couldn't go to a game without hearing the bellowing tunes he would put out. His playing was just as much a tradition as garlic fries at Safeco or raising the 12th Fan flag at Qwest. Win or lose after the game as well you'd hear him play. It was a cool thing.

The sad story about him being beat up by a couple of youth which lead to his death is tragic. It broke my heart to hear about that. I pray for his family and for the community at large. It is a hard reminder of the fallen world we live in and the reality it is. Things will improve in Seattle sportswise, things like this tend to go in cycles. The "Tuba Man" will be missed.

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Fantasy Football Tuesday: Week 10 Edition

It's time for Fantasy Football Tuesday: Week 10 Edition. It's the point of the season where the stretch run takes place on the way to the playoffs (hopefully). This was a great week as I went 3-0 in the three highlight leagues. Here's the breakdown for Week 10 and the look ahead to Week 11...


Breakdown:


In the Speed Kills league, the K.C. Masterpieces have won two in a row now after knocking off the River City Roosters by the score of 128.69 to 83.56. The Masterpieces were yet againthe highest scoring team in the league this week. It was a huge performance and at a perfect time given the race to the playoffs is heating up. With this win, the Masterpieces are only one game out of first place. The leading scorers for the Masterpieces were Eddie Royal, Jay Cutler, Reggie Wayne and Wes Welker. After Week 10, I'm in 4th place (essentially tied for 3rd) with a record of 6-4.


In the League of Fantasy Footballers, the Kansas City Chefs have kept the momentum going as they've now won three straight games EasieR WIN by the score of 152.74 to 62.33. The Chefs scored the highest amount of points this week in the league. They easily won the matchup even before Anquan Boldin stepped on the field for his game on Monday Night. With the win, the Chefs go to two games above .500 for the first time all season. The leading scorers for the Chefs were Adrian Peterson, Maurice Jones-Drew, Philip Rivers and Anquan Boldin. After Week 10, I'm in 4th place with a record of 6-4.


In the Young Guns league, the Kansas City Perkalators bounced back this week with a win as they beat the Tennessee Journeyman by the score of 66-50. Helped by the Journeyman starting two players who were on the bye, the Perks were able to eek out a win to get back on track and keep pace in the playoff race. Leading scorers for the Perkalators were Philip Rivers, Jamal Lewis, Antonio Gates and Hines Ward. After week 10, I'm in 2nd place in Division 1 with a record of 6-3-1.


Outlook for Week 11:


In the Speed Kills league, the K.C. Masterpieces (6-4) will look to keep the momentum going as they take on the league leading The Rainmaker (7-3). With only four games left in the regular season, this will be a critical game for both teams. As it stands right now, there is only two games seperating 7 teams from the top spot. It also means one little slip up and you can be out of the playoffs as only six teams make the playoffs. It will be a fight the rest of the season as the Masterpieces look to make the playoffs and retain their championship. Key matchup will be the RB position (Ronnie Brown/LenDale White vs. Chris Johnson/Darren Sproles). As of right now, Yahoo is predicting the Masterpieces as the favorite.


In the League of Fantasy Footballers, the Kansas City Chefs (6-4) will look avenge a loss early in the year as they square off against the Eskimo Army. The Chefs would love to hand the Army a loss as they have become the "villian" team in the league with the trash talking and repeated roster moves to disrupt things. There are only three games left in the regular season so every game matters. As it stands right now, two games seperate the top team from the sixth place team. One team has already qualified for the playoffs (Multiple Homeowners) so there are five playoff spots left along with seeding to play for. Key matchup will be at the QB position (Philip Rivers vs. Tony Romo). As of right now, Yahoo is predicting the Army as the favorite.


In the Young Guns league, the Kansas City Perkalators (6-3-1) will face off against division rivals the Louisville Express (7-3). This will be a huge matchup as this matchup is against the top two teams in Division 1. These two teams faced off in Week 4 with the Perks getting the win. The winner of this game will be in 1st place in the division with only two more games left in the regular season after this week. Key matchup will be at the TE position (Antonio Gates vs. Owen Daniels). As of right now, ESPN is predicting the Perkalators as the favorite.


That's all for this week. Tune in next Tuesday for another installment of Fantasy Football Tuesday.

Thursday, November 6, 2008

Reflecting on an End of an Era

I've been wanting to talk about this topic for a while but life has kind of taken me away for a little bit. But I have some time so I'll use it now for that.

In recent weeks, I learned that the two coaches of teams I root for will not be coming back next season. Tyrone Willingham at Washington and Philip Fulmer at Tennessee. I have varying feelings about both.

In the case of Willingham, I'm very disappointed. Personally, I don't think he got a fair shake. He was trying to rebuild a program that was pretty much down in the dumps. In my time in Seattle, I saw a team that was willing to play for him and if there hadn't been some injuries here and there (along with some bad refereeing) he would have made a bowl game at least once, maybe twice. I only got to watch about two games this year (BYU, Oklahoma) so I can't really gauge the difference as to why they're winless. What I do know is it's sad that he's not going to be back and the next coach is going to have a tough time.

In the case of Fulmer, I'm not really surprised. Ever since my senior year of college (2001-02), he has really had a hard time. The team off the field has had multiple problems (not recently but a few years ago) and the team on the field has had similar problems. In 2005, they missed going to a bowl game for the first time since 1988 and this year they're on track to do it again. It has been really frustrating because in the big game the team seems to way underachieve. Personally, I thought he should have been fired at least two times earlier. But I do like him and I'm glad for the way he has carried himself. It's very rare to see the loyalty that he showed to the school that he has spent such a long time at first as a player, then assistant head coach, then head coach. I'm sure he'll stick around in some capacity as an administrator. I do hope the next coach they bring in will be someone who can compete not only for the SEC championship but the national championship.

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Fantasy Football Tuesday: Week 9 Edition

It's time for Fantasy Football Tuesday: Week 9 Edition. This was another week of improvement as I ended up going 2-1 in the three highlight leagues. Here's the breakdown for Week 9 and the look ahead to Week 10...

Breakdown:

In the Speed Kills league, the K.C. Masterpieces finally got back on the win column as they beat KILLA B by the score of 110.79 to 64.25. The Masterpieces were the highest scoring team in the league this week. Given the past two weeks, this week's victory helps to right the ship and with five games left in the season, every win is key. The leading scorers for the Masterpieces were Eddie Royal, Rob Bironias, Ronnie Brown and Chris Cooley. After Week 8, I'm in 4th place (essentially tied for 3rd) with a record of 5-4.

In the League of Fantasy Footballers, the Kansas City Chefs have miraclously won two straight games as they beat Homeskool Dropouts by the score of 78.39 to 68.39. The Chefs, in spite of not benching Philip Rivers and Antonio Gates who were on the bye and not starting Adrian Peterson, were able to pull out the victory and are above .500 for the first time since 1-0. The leading scorers for the Chefs were Jerious Norwood, Tennessee DEF, Anquan Boldin and Maurice Jones-Drew. After Week 9, I'm in 6th place (essentially tied for 5th) with a record of 5-4.

In the Young Guns league, the Kansas City Perkalators lost a tough game against Mexico City Gringos by the score of 78-67. The Perks had a hard time with backup QB Matt Schaub getting hurt and also backup TE Tony Scheffler not playing at all which helped contribute to the loss. Leading scorers for the Perkalators were Bernard Berrian, Rob Bironias and Jerious Norwood. After week 9, I'm in 2nd place in Division 1 with a record of 5-3-1.

Outlook for Week 10:

In the Speed Kills league, the K.C. Masterpieces (5-4) will look to keep the momentum going as they take on the River City Roosters (4-5). The Masterpieces will be without Tampa Bay DEF and TE Chris Cooley while the Roosters will not be affected by the bye. Key matchup will be the QB position (Jay Cutler vs. David Garrard). As of right now, Yahoo is predicting the Masterpieces as the favorite.

In the League of Fantasy Footballers, the Kansas City Chefs (5-4) will look to keep the momentum going as they match up against Easiest Win Ever (2-7). These two teams met in Week 1 with the Chefs getting a victory. The Chefs will be at full strength as there are no players on the bye and all starters will be in the lineup. The Easiest Win Ever will be without WR Roy Williams on the bye. Key matchup will be at the DEF position (Tennessee vs. Pittsburgh). As of right now, Yahoo is predicting the Chefs as the favorite.

In the Young Guns league, the Kansas City Perkalators (5-3-1) will face off against Tennessee Journeymen (7-2). This will be a tough matchup as the Perks square off against a team that is tied for the division lead in the other division. The Perks will be at 100% with no players on the bye. The Journeymen will be without RB Clinton Portis and Tampa Bay DEF as they'll be on the bye. Key matchup will be at the QB position (Philip Rivers vs. Eli Manning). As of right now, ESPN is predicting the Perkalators as the favorite.

That's all for this week. Tune in next Tuesday for another installment of Fantasy Football Tuesday.