Fantasy Football Tuesday: Week 8

Week 8 proved to be another down week in the JustUs Geeks Fantasy League for the Hub City All Stars.  The All Stars lost the second week in a row.  It doesn't help when one of your starting running backs only puts up 1.00 point (blame Chiefs HC Romeo Crennell for that one).  Fortunately, I still have the lead in the division and overall (by point total).  Hopefully next week, I can get off the losing streak.  Here's the recap:

[Winner Goes Here] Gets Victory over Hub City All Stars for Third Straight Win

• 
  [Winner Goes Here] (5-3) 155.44
• 
  Hub City All Stars (5-3) 141.36

[Winner Goes Here] registered the highest point total this week on the way to their third win in a row when they beat Hub City All Stars 155.44 - 141.36. The streak has been a real boost for [Winner Goes Here]. They've climbed from sixth place to third since Week 6. Hub City All Stars goes to 5-3 and stays in first place. [Winner Goes Here] has recently knocked over Alabama Autobots (181.82 - 133.02) and Starfleet (128.18 - 77.10).
[Winner Goes Here] Smooth Moves

• The New England Patriots Defense ranked ninth in the league in scoring with 28.00 points against a projected 12.54 and has now overachieved in five straight games.
• Marshawn Lynch scored 22.60 points, which ranked third out of all the RBs in the league this week.
• With 19.40 points, Trent Richardson ranked sixth in scoring among all RBs in the league this week.
• With 17.60 points, Denarius Moore ranked seventh in the league in scoring among WRs this week.
• The 14.80 points scored by Brandon Lloyd was the ninth-highest score by a WR in the league this week.

Hub City All Stars Regret Tracker

• Did not start Matt Bryant, who scored 13.00 points and beat his projected point total by a team-leading 51.0%.
• Picked up Brent Celek, who scored 3.20 points against his projected 6.20.
• Jamaal Charles was last on the team in scoring with 1.00 point, 8.2% of his projected 12.26, which is his lowest percentage of the season.
• 7 of the starters on Hub City All Stars scored less than their projected points.
• With 6.20 points, Mike Wallace scored only 47.1% of his 13.17 projected point total.

What If

• [Winner Goes Here] would be 3-5 if they played Hub City All Stars every week.
• [Winner Goes Here] would have beaten every other team in the league this week.
• If they played the same schedule as Hub City All Stars, [Winner Goes Here] would be 3-3.
• If [Winner Goes Here] had played every team in the league each week, they would be 29-27.
• Hub City All Stars would have lost to just two other teams besides [Winner Goes Here] this week.
• [Winner Goes Here] would have lost to Hub City All Stars 134.86 - 128.18 had they played each other last week.
• If they played the same schedule as [Winner Goes Here], Hub City All Stars would be 5-1.
• If they played every team every week, Hub City All Stars would be 41-15.

Game Notes

• All three of the losses for Hub City All Stars this season have come when their opponent scores higher than their season average.
• [Winner Goes Here] led the league in scoring for the second time this season with 155.44 points.
• [Winner Goes Here] won again and is on a three-game winning streak, currently the longest in the league.
• Although Hub City All Stars lost, they did put up the sixth-highest score for a losing team in the league this season.
• After scoring 20.00 points against a projected 13.35, the Chicago Bears Defense has now exceeded their projection in seven straight weeks.
• [Winner Goes Here] got the best total score from their WRs of any team this week with 58.90 points.
• It was the biggest loss of the season for Hub City All Stars.
• [Winner Goes Here] is leveraging their draft well. This week they got 98.9% of their points from players they drafted.

Brandon Marshall and Stephen A. Smith talking Christianity on ESPN

I caught this thanks to a retweet I saw this evening.  It was of an interview on ESPN First Take this morning.  For those that don't know the show, it's basically an argument show between Skip Bayless & Stephen A. Smith.  This morning they had on Bears WR Brandon Marshall, whose team won last night on Monday Night Football.

I'm sharing it on here because A) I found out that Brandon Marshall is a follower of Jesus, which is good considering that I didn't know that he was and B) it's a good discussion to listen to regarding being a Christian and how that plays out in life.

Fantasy Football Tuesday: Week 7

Week 7 has proven to be the week that "anybody can win any given week" in fantasy football has proven true.  This week saw the Hub City All Stars get their second loss of the season in the JustUs Geeks Fantasy League to the team with the worst record in the league.  Granted I had my two starting running backs on the bye along with one of my starting wide receivers & Chris Johnson decided to actually play well this week which contributed to the loss.  However, because of how the rest of the league shook out, I'm still in 1st place in my division and 1st overall in the league.  Here's the recap for Week 7:

Alabama Autobots Picks Up Victory over Hub City All Stars to Even Season Series

• 
  Alabama Autobots (2-5) 148.18
• 
  Hub City All Stars (5-2) 134.86

Alabama Autobots defeated Hub City All Stars 148.18 - 134.86 and got the second-highest point total in the league this week. The win was an answer to a 122.24 - 120.42 heartbreaking loss to Hub City All Stars in Week 2. Leading Hub City All Stars, the Chicago Bears Defense (27.00 points) and Tom Brady (22.36) both ranked highly overall for the week. Alabama Autobots (2-5, 901.78 points) remains mired in the cellar while Hub City All Stars (5-2, 1,152.16 points) stays in first place.
Alabama Autobots Smooth Moves

• Chris Johnson had 37.80 points, the highest RB score of the week and the second-highest RB score in the league this season.
• Eli Manning put up 28.88 points, which was the eighth-highest score in the league this week.
• Jordy Nelson ranked fifth in the league in scoring among WRs this week with 20.20 points.
• The 17.70 points scored by Santana Moss was the sixth-highest score by a WR in the league this week.
• Marques Colston overachieved by 24.9%, scoring 13.30 points against a projected 10.65.

Hub City All Stars Regret Tracker

• The 7.30 points scored by Reggie Wayne was a season-low for both scoring and for his performance against projections. He reached only 74.8% of his 9.76 projected points this week.
• 6 of the 11 starters scored less than their projected points.
• With 5.90 points, Mike Wallace scored only 47.7% of his 12.37 projected point total.

What If

• If Alabama Autobots played Hub City All Stars every week, they would be 1-6 this season.
• Besides Hub City All Stars, Alabama Autobots would have defeated five other teams this week.
• If they played the same schedule as Hub City All Stars, Alabama Autobots would be 3-2.
• If Alabama Autobots had played every team in the league each week, they would be 20-29.
• Hub City All Stars would have lost to just two other teams besides Alabama Autobots this week.
• Had they played each other last week, Alabama Autobots would have lost to Hub City All Stars 165.70 - 133.02.
• Hub City All Stars would be 4-1 if they played the same schedule as Alabama Autobots.
• Hub City All Stars would be 37-12 if they played every team every week.

Game Notes

• After scoring 148.18 points against a projected 130.44, Alabama Autobots has overachieved for four straight weeks.
• Hub City All Stars beat their scoring projection for the sixth time this season by scoring 134.86 points against a projected 125.24. They have now overachieved five weeks in a row.
• Hub City All Stars scored 134.86 points and lost. It is the ninth-highest losing score in the league this season.
• In the loss, the Chicago Bears Defense ranked ninth in the league in scoring with 27.00 points against a projected 12.04 and has now overachieved in six straight games.
• Maurice Jones-Drew scored a season-low 0.60 points and underachieved for the third straight week.
• Alabama Autobots was able to win with little help from Calvin Johnson, who had a season-low 3.40 points and is on a three-week underperforming streak.
• The RBs on Alabama Autobots collectively had their best week of the season with 49.00 points.
• Hub City All Stars got a combined 17.30 points from their TEs, their highest combined scoring output from the TE position this season.

Fantasy Football Tuesday: Week 6

It is almost at the halfway point in the regular season of the JustUs Geeks Fantasy League.  Week 6 just finished and there are about 7 weeks left (it's a 13 week regular season).  At the unofficial halfway point, I am leading the league.  I started out Week 1 in third place overall and moved my way up to first place overall in Week 2 and have held there since.  Week 6 saw a rematch of Week 1 matchup between the Hub City All Stars and Starfleet.  It is the second of three regular season matchups within the Autobots division.  After a little bit of worrying about the Monday Night game, it ended up being a blowout.  Out of five wins, three have been blowouts, including two straight weeks and three of the last four weeks.  So my record is 5-1 and leading the league in points scored (1014.90) and given up the fewest points (747.90).  Here's the recap for Week 6:

Hub City All Stars Beats the Pants Off Starfleet and Remains Unbeaten in Head-to-Head Play

• 
  Hub City All Stars (5-1) 165.70
• 
  Starfleet (3-3) 102.08

Hub City All Stars humiliates Starfleet after another blowout, this time by a final score of 165.70 - 102.08. Tom Brady put up 53.80 points and was a force. It was much more than his 21.54 points in the last matchup with Starfleet. Hub City All Stars won 150.04 - 103.22 in Week 1, and now has a 55.22-point average margin of victory over Starfleet.
Hub City All Stars Smooth Moves

• The 53.80 points scored by Tom Brady was the second-highest QB score of the week and is the ninth-highest QB score in the league this season.
• With 21.40 points, Mike Wallace ranked ninth in the league in scoring among WRs this week.
• The 15.30 points by James Jones topped a projected 8.03, extending his overachievement streak to three weeks.
• The Seattle Seahawks Defense has now overachieved in five straight games after scoring 13.00 points against a projected 6.64.
• In scoring 17.80 points, Eric Decker put up his largest point total of the year.

Starfleet Regret Tracker

• Starfleet needed more points from the QB position, where Hub City All Stars beat them 53.80 - 9.68.
• The 6.10 points scored by Reggie Bush was a season-low for both scoring and for his performance against projections. He reached only 40.0% of his 15.26 projected points this week.
• With 3.10 points, Miles Austin had his lowest output of the season and tallied just 25.4% of his 12.21 projected points, his lowest percentage of the year.
• It was a season-low 2.10 points for Dwayne Bowe this week. It was also a season-low for his performance versus projections, reaching only 22.2% of a projected point total of 9.46.
• 8 of the 11 starters scored less than their projected points.

What If

• Hub City All Stars would be 5-1 if they played Starfleet every week.
• Hub City All Stars would have beaten five other teams besides Starfleet this week.
• Had they played each other last week, Hub City All Stars would have defeated Starfleet 185.72 - 123.78.
• Hub City All Stars would be 3-1 if they played the same schedule as Starfleet.
• If Hub City All Stars had played every team in the league each week, they would be 33-9.
• Starfleet would have been beaten by every other team in the league this week.
• Starfleet would be 2-2 if they played the same schedule as Hub City All Stars.
• Starfleet would be 15-27 if they played every team every week.

Game Notes

• With 102.08 points, Starfleet was last in the league in scoring and had their lowest score of the season.
• It was the third-biggest margin of victory in the league this season at 63.62 points.
• Hub City All Stars beat their scoring projection for the fifth time this season by scoring 165.70 points against a projected 133.52. They have now overachieved four weeks in a row.
• Starfleet had their worst loss of the season, losing by 63.62 points.
• The 55.70 points by the WRs on Starfleet was the season-high for combined points from the position.
• With the big loss, Starfleet remains winless in blowout games this season, falling to 0-2.
• Hub City All Stars remains undefeated in blowout games this season, improving to 3-0.
• In the loss, Wes Welker scored 32.60 points, the fifth-highest WR score in the league this season.

Fantasy Football Tuesday: Week 5

Just finished Week 5 in the JustUs Geeks Fantasy League and had another tough matchup to overcome.  Having lost last week's matchup, my team needed to stop the losing streak and get back in the win column.  And that is what happened as the Hub City All Stars once again posted the most points in the league this week along with having the biggest margin of victory.  With the win, the record now improves to 4-1 and still the #1 seed.  Here's the recap for Week 5:

Hub City All Stars Wins Shocker over Marauders, Drops Them into Fifth Place

• 
  Hub City All Stars (4-1) 185.72
• 
  Marauders (2-3) 135.50

Hub City All Stars put up the highest point total this week and upset Marauders 185.72 - 135.50, overcoming a 16.95-point spread. With this win, Hub City All Stars scored 27.8% more than projected and has now beaten expectations three weeks running. Drew Brees, with 59.60 points, racked up the highest score for the week. Marauders (2-3, 740.60 points) drops to fifth place and Hub City All Stars (4-1, 851.60 points) remains in first place.

Hub City All Stars Smooth Moves

• With 30.20 points, Reggie Wayne had the second-highest WR score of the week and the fifth-highest WR score in the league this season.
• The Chicago Bears Defense had 37.00 points, the highest DEF score of the week and the third-highest score among DEF in the league this season.
• Took Jermaine Gresham out of the starting lineup, who scored 6.00 points on the bench, fewer than the starting TE.
• Brandon Marshall scored 20.40 points, the eighth-highest WR score in the league this week.
• Frank Gore had 16.60 points, the sixth-highest score among RBs in the league this week.

Marauders Regret Tracker

• Picked up Jared Cook but left him on the bench, where he scored 9.70 points against a projected 5.62.
• BenJarvus Green-Ellis was last on the team in scoring with 1.60 points against a projected 13.05 and has now underachieved in four straight games.
• Brandon Tate has now failed to reach his projection for three straight games. This week he scored 4.90 points versus a projected 12.13.
• Marauders got beat 37.00 - 9.00 by Hub City All Stars at the DEF position.
• It was not a good week for Marauders at TE, where they were beaten 13.90 - 3.50.

What If

• Hub City All Stars would be 3-2 if they played Marauders every week.
• Hub City All Stars would have beaten every other team in the league this week.
• Had they played each other last week, Hub City All Stars would have defeated Marauders 195.10 - 155.24.
• If they played the same schedule as Marauders, Hub City All Stars would be 3-1.
• Hub City All Stars would be 27-8 if they played every team every week.
• Marauders would have lost to three other teams besides Hub City All Stars this week.
• If they played the same schedule as Hub City All Stars, Marauders would be 3-1.
• If they played every team every week, Marauders would be 22-13.

Game Notes

• Hub City All Stars had a league-high for the week with 185.72 points, which is the fifth-highest score in the league this season.
• It was the third-biggest margin of victory in the league this season at 50.22 points.
• Hub City All Stars scored 185.72 points against a projected 145.31 and beat their scoring projection for the fourth time this season, including the last three weeks in a row.
• It was the worst loss of the season for Marauders, with the margin of victory coming in at 50.22 points.
• Marauders scored 135.50 points and lost. It is the seventh-highest losing score in the league this season.
• In the loss, Drew Brees led the league in scoring and had the fifth-most points in the league this season with 59.60.
• The 60.40 points by the WRs on Hub City All Stars was the season-high for combined points from the position.
• Marauders got a combined 11.90 points from their RBs, their lowest combined scoring output from the RB position this season.

Very Cool Opportunity: Giving the Invocation

Last Saturday I had the opportunity to give the invocation at a Wofford football game.  The story behind it & the experience was an interesting one that I thought I'd share here.

It all started back around late August.  My director was talking to the chaplain at Wofford and was asked about being a part of their orientation worship service.  While talking about that, the chaplain suggested that I could do the invocation at a football game at some point this season.  She said he should talk to me about it and he did.

When I talked with him, he told me that it was to be an "inclusive" prayer.  When I asked what "inclusive" meant, he said that I just couldn't say at the end "in Jesus name we pray, amen."  Aside from that, I could say whatever.  After giving it some thought and praying about it, I said sure I'd do it.

A few weeks later, the chaplain asked me when I would like to do it.  I gave him some dates in order of preference, with the top choice being the last game of the season vs Chattanooga (reason being home state and all).  The chaplain comes back and says "We'll go with Furman.  There will be a lot of people here and there will be a lot of Baptists."

There is a long standing rivalry between Wofford and Furman.  Furman is a private university with Baptist roots (but don't really hold much to that anymore) that's just down the road in Greenville.  These two schools actually played in the first college football game that was played in the state of South Carolina way back in 1889.  So this is a big time game.  Couple that with being "Family Weekend" on campus & "Church Youth Day" at the game, led to a lot of people (believe the attendance at the game was 9,170).

So with all that as a backdrop, I went to the game.  I got there early because I knew there would be a lot of people and wanted to give myself some time before I had to be where I needed to be.  I got a special parking pass and got to park in special parking area.  I also got a "media pass" which allowed me to go up to the press box, which is where I would be giving the invocation.

Around 12:45pm I made my way up to the press box.  When I got up there, I was met up there by the chaplain who then introduced me to the PA guy for the stadium (who is also one of the morning news anchors for one of the local networks).  He went over with me how it would go basically telling that when it was time he would push the button on the mic, announce me, then lean out of the way and I would give the prayer.  I would have no more than 40 seconds to give it (it really was down to a time frame like that).  So I hung out in the press box until it was my time and then I went over and gave the prayer.  It was short and to the point and then I was done.  Afterwards, I got some food that was in the press box (I could've ate it earlier but I didn't want to eat right before I was going to give the invocation) then went out into the stands and found a seat to watch the game.  Wofford ended up beating Furman 20-17 to keep their record undefeated.

It was a really cool experience and one I'll remember for a long time.

Fantasy Football Tuesday: Week 4

It was bound to happen.  In all my years of playing fantasy football, I have never had an undefeated season.  And it will not happen in the JustUs Geeks Fantasy League.  I had a feeling going into this week against my friend and fellow Union University alum Marty that I would get my first loss.  I had two of my top receivers out on the bye week plus I was still without starting TE Aaron Hernandez.  But I will say this about my team, they did not quit.  It ended up being the closest matchup by the end of the Monday Night game and I put up the second most total points of the week.  Coupled with a loss by the 2nd place team in the Autobots division, I'm still atop the Autobots division and #1 overall in the league.

After 4 weeks, I'm 3-1.  If I can do that every 4 weeks, I'll be happy with that.  Here's the recap for Week 4:

My Little Pwny Gets Past Hub City All Stars

• 
  My Little Pwny (3-1) 203.56
• 
  Hub City All Stars (3-1) 195.10

My Little Pwny registered the second-highest score of the season, stealing one from Hub City All Stars 203.56 - 195.10. This was a matchup that could have gone either way, with the 8.46-point margin of victory being the third-smallest recorded in the league this season. Hub City All Stars had two players rank highly this week. Tom Brady scored 45.00 points while the Chicago Bears Defense put up 31.00. My Little Pwny (3-1, 632.94 points) remains in second place and Hub City All Stars (3-1, 665.88 points) stays in first place.
My Little Pwny Smooth Moves

• The 57.76 points scored by Matt Ryan was the second-highest QB score of the week and is the fifth-highest QB score in the league this season.
• Scott Chandler had 18.20 points, the highest TE score of the week and the second-highest TE score in the league this season.
• The Baltimore Ravens Defense has now overachieved in every game this season after scoring 22.00 points against a projected 13.42.
• Took the Philadelphia Eagles Defense out of the starting lineup, which scored 5.00 points on the bench, fewer than the starting DEF.
• The 21.90 points scored by Darren Sproles was the third-highest score of any RB in the league this week.

Hub City All Stars Regret Tracker

• Did not start Owen Daniels, who beat his scoring projection with 13.20 points against a projected 5.52.
• With 4.10 points against a projected 7.55, Sidney Rice did not meet his projection for the third straight game.
• Hub City All Stars was dominated at the TE position, scoring 4.70 points versus the 18.20 for My Little Pwny.
• Hub City All Stars had only 3 of their 11 starters underperform versus their projections, but they still lost.

What If

• If My Little Pwny played Hub City All Stars every week, they would be 2-2 this season.
• My Little Pwny would have beaten every other team in the league this week.
• If they played the same schedule as Hub City All Stars, My Little Pwny would be 2-1.
• If My Little Pwny had played every team in the league each week, they would be 18-10.
• Hub City All Stars would have beaten every other team in the league besides My Little Pwny this week.
• My Little Pwny would have lost to Hub City All Stars 198.50 - 154.82 had they played each other last week.
• If they played the same schedule as My Little Pwny, Hub City All Stars would be 1-2.
• If they played every team every week, Hub City All Stars would be 20-8.

Game Notes

• This matchup featured the two highest-scoring teams in the league this week.
• In the loss, the Chicago Bears Defense scored 31.00 points against a projected 9.95 and has now overachieved in every game this season.
• Hub City All Stars scored 195.10 points and lost. It is the highest losing score in the league this season.
• The 8.46-point win by My Little Pwny failed to cover the 28.35-point spread.
• The 8.46-point margin of victory was the smallest in the league this week.
• The 55.40 points by the WRs on Hub City All Stars was the season-high for combined points from the position.
• Hub City All Stars could not extend their three-game win streak.
• My Little Pwny stays undefeated in close games this season at 2-0.