Trades are starting to heat up. Anyone out there feeling the pressure to improve your team? We've got stars, has beens, and wanna-bees flying all over the place. Playoff positions and league front runners are starting to show themselves even though we've got plenty of time to go in the season. Stay tuned for some updated playoff predictions and a little juicy smack talk.
Please add the players you are willing to consider trading by replying with a comment below. Also, feel free to post what position you're looking for too (WR, RB, etc). The trade deadline is Nov. 26, so there's plenty of time to make a move to improve your team. You never know what offer you may get...
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Friday, October 22, 2010
Ten Commandments of Fantasy Football
In this weeks love/hate Matthew Berry, an ESPN fantasy analyst, (Matthew Berry's ESPN Fantasy Website) outlines the 10 commandments of fantasy football. I'm going to stay away from equating Matthew Berry to a god, but these commandments are pretty stellar.
1. Thou shalt not veto. If there is obvious collusion between two owners, then the commissioner (or league via veto) should not allow it. But other than that? Let it go. People should be allowed to coach their team and trade whoever they want, even if you think it's a really stupid rip-off trade. Negotiating a steal of a deal is part of fantasy skill and as long as both parties want to do the deal, you're a punk if you block it. Especially the people who block a trade just because it doesn't involve them or because it's part of their "strategy" to block other teams from improving. That's the coward's way out and you're a scummy, spineless punk if you do that. Win on the virtual field, not in the bureaucracy.
2. Thou shalt play out the season. I don't care if you're 0-12. You make waiver claims and set your best possible lineup in Week 13. It matters to the rest of the league. Have fantasy pride. Quitting is for wimps and people with no moral fiber. You made a commitment, stick to it. Too many times I've heard of people in public leagues (it seems to happens less on ESPN than on other sites, thankfully) sign up for the league to practice drafting and then abandon the team. (This is why we offer free mock drafts and auctions). But even more than that, as teams get tough breaks or aren't winning, owners no longer play it out, leaving bye week and injured guy in their lineups and essentially handing their opponents crucial wins.
I was forced to do it once (a high-stake baseball league the summer I was going through my separation) and I hated myself for it. Seeing as how I ultimately ended up divorced, I should have found a way to play it out.
3. Thou shalt set your lineup every week Nothing is worse than seeing someone starting a lineup with guys on a bye and playing against a competitor you need to lose. Every game matters to everyone else in the league, so I don't care if your honeymoon is right smack in the middle of your season, you can't have a week off. If you know you're not gonna be able to play every week, then don't play at all. The Internet is everywhere. You can set your lineup six days in advance and you can access your ESPN Fantasy team from any mobile phone. If you have to, you can ask a friend or the league commish to set your best possible lineup for you. There is no excuse.
4. Thou shalt not talk about your team. No one cares about your team but you. If you meet me in public, sure, tell me, I get paid to listen to you. But other than that? Seriously, no one wants to hear you prattle on.
5. Thou shalt respond to trade offers. Dude, it's common courtesy. Just a simple "No thanks" is fine. Just let us know you got it but you're not interested.
5a. Thou shalt take no for an answer. A follow up to 5, if the person says no, then don't bombard them with a million other trade offers. One follow-up "Are you interested in talking trade at all?" or "is Player A at all available?" is allowed. But if they still say no, then let it be. Whether it's a girl or a trade, no means no. Period.
6. Thou shalt not bid on a player in an auction if you don't know who he is. If I throw out a player and someone says "Oooh, sleeper," you're not allowed to bid if you don't know who he is or why he's a sleeper. Do your own homework. Stop copying off my paper, jerk.
7. Thou shalt not abuse the waiver process. Don't continually pick guys up and then drop them, placing them on waivers, thus making them unavailable for two days to the rest of the league. Like I said in the first one. Win on the virtual field, not in the bureaucracy, coward. (For those who play on ESPN, that's not a problem; a player must be owned for 24 hours before he'll be put back out on waivers when dropped.)
8. Thou shalt not change the rules midseason. I don't care if it everyone's complaining or it seems unfair in Week 5. You play the rules that were set up at the start of season. Change at the start of next year. Take the job of commissioner seriously. Have a strong constitution at the start of the year and enforce it.
9. Thou shalt not say "Championship!" after drafting T.J. Houshmandzadeh. It's an old joke. We've heard it a million times. Let it go. (thanks to @US_LaticFanatic on Twitter for that one).
10. Thou shalt act like a normal, civilized human being. This is a catch-all for everything else. Act in fantasy how you would in real life. If you agree to a deal, you go through with it. Unless your word means nothing in real life too. Then you're just a horrible human being. Don't be an Internet tough-guy on e-mails or message boards. Smack talk is fine, but insulting or getting personal and saying things you'd never say to someone to their face? Save it, coward. Especially if you hide behind a fake screen name. Don't kick someone out of a league without telling them. Don't reneg on a bet or league fees you owe because the game or season didn't go the way you wanted. Don't abuse your power as commissioner. Don't offer a crappy trade you would never take if you were on the other side of it. Don't whine, bitch, complain or do anything that takes the fun out of the greatest game ever invented.
The 10 Fantasy Commandments
1. Thou shalt not veto. If there is obvious collusion between two owners, then the commissioner (or league via veto) should not allow it. But other than that? Let it go. People should be allowed to coach their team and trade whoever they want, even if you think it's a really stupid rip-off trade. Negotiating a steal of a deal is part of fantasy skill and as long as both parties want to do the deal, you're a punk if you block it. Especially the people who block a trade just because it doesn't involve them or because it's part of their "strategy" to block other teams from improving. That's the coward's way out and you're a scummy, spineless punk if you do that. Win on the virtual field, not in the bureaucracy.
2. Thou shalt play out the season. I don't care if you're 0-12. You make waiver claims and set your best possible lineup in Week 13. It matters to the rest of the league. Have fantasy pride. Quitting is for wimps and people with no moral fiber. You made a commitment, stick to it. Too many times I've heard of people in public leagues (it seems to happens less on ESPN than on other sites, thankfully) sign up for the league to practice drafting and then abandon the team. (This is why we offer free mock drafts and auctions). But even more than that, as teams get tough breaks or aren't winning, owners no longer play it out, leaving bye week and injured guy in their lineups and essentially handing their opponents crucial wins.
I was forced to do it once (a high-stake baseball league the summer I was going through my separation) and I hated myself for it. Seeing as how I ultimately ended up divorced, I should have found a way to play it out.
3. Thou shalt set your lineup every week Nothing is worse than seeing someone starting a lineup with guys on a bye and playing against a competitor you need to lose. Every game matters to everyone else in the league, so I don't care if your honeymoon is right smack in the middle of your season, you can't have a week off. If you know you're not gonna be able to play every week, then don't play at all. The Internet is everywhere. You can set your lineup six days in advance and you can access your ESPN Fantasy team from any mobile phone. If you have to, you can ask a friend or the league commish to set your best possible lineup for you. There is no excuse.
5. Thou shalt respond to trade offers. Dude, it's common courtesy. Just a simple "No thanks" is fine. Just let us know you got it but you're not interested.
5a. Thou shalt take no for an answer. A follow up to 5, if the person says no, then don't bombard them with a million other trade offers. One follow-up "Are you interested in talking trade at all?" or "is Player A at all available?" is allowed. But if they still say no, then let it be. Whether it's a girl or a trade, no means no. Period.
6. Thou shalt not bid on a player in an auction if you don't know who he is. If I throw out a player and someone says "Oooh, sleeper," you're not allowed to bid if you don't know who he is or why he's a sleeper. Do your own homework. Stop copying off my paper, jerk.
7. Thou shalt not abuse the waiver process. Don't continually pick guys up and then drop them, placing them on waivers, thus making them unavailable for two days to the rest of the league. Like I said in the first one. Win on the virtual field, not in the bureaucracy, coward. (For those who play on ESPN, that's not a problem; a player must be owned for 24 hours before he'll be put back out on waivers when dropped.)
8. Thou shalt not change the rules midseason. I don't care if it everyone's complaining or it seems unfair in Week 5. You play the rules that were set up at the start of season. Change at the start of next year. Take the job of commissioner seriously. Have a strong constitution at the start of the year and enforce it.
9. Thou shalt not say "Championship!" after drafting T.J. Houshmandzadeh. It's an old joke. We've heard it a million times. Let it go. (thanks to @US_LaticFanatic on Twitter for that one).
10. Thou shalt act like a normal, civilized human being. This is a catch-all for everything else. Act in fantasy how you would in real life. If you agree to a deal, you go through with it. Unless your word means nothing in real life too. Then you're just a horrible human being. Don't be an Internet tough-guy on e-mails or message boards. Smack talk is fine, but insulting or getting personal and saying things you'd never say to someone to their face? Save it, coward. Especially if you hide behind a fake screen name. Don't kick someone out of a league without telling them. Don't reneg on a bet or league fees you owe because the game or season didn't go the way you wanted. Don't abuse your power as commissioner. Don't offer a crappy trade you would never take if you were on the other side of it. Don't whine, bitch, complain or do anything that takes the fun out of the greatest game ever invented.
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Weekly Update...ya, it's been a while.
So I have to say, if I wasn't pumped before I'm pumped now. Fantasy football officially rocks my socks (to borrow the terrible and completely inaccurate way to describe incredible excitement...now that I think about it, is that a complete sexual innuendo?) Huge week. First Wives gets yet another win and in convincing fashion. Floaters completely explodes and another game decided by less than half a point! So let's get to the good stuff.
Updated Payouts
What Were You Thinking!?!
Well I have no choice but to award the What Were You Thinking award too...myself. With one of my six bench players on bye week and one out with an injury my bench managed to score 68 points. If we are keeping track (of course no one is) my bench (including bye week/injury players) averaged two points more per player than my starting line up did. Funny thing is I pulled all three high scoring bench players from my starting lineup exactly 30 minutes before games started on Sunday. There's only one thing I can say "What Was I Thinking!"
Weekly Wager
Ok, here's the deal. Only Isaac and Jake have ever bet on the weekly wager, and I totally got owned. For this weeks wager I'm going college football, Big Ten. Wagers due by game time Saturday.
Wisconsin @ Iowa (-5.5) Oct. 23 12:30pm
Updated Payouts
What Were You Thinking!?!
Well I have no choice but to award the What Were You Thinking award too...myself. With one of my six bench players on bye week and one out with an injury my bench managed to score 68 points. If we are keeping track (of course no one is) my bench (including bye week/injury players) averaged two points more per player than my starting line up did. Funny thing is I pulled all three high scoring bench players from my starting lineup exactly 30 minutes before games started on Sunday. There's only one thing I can say "What Was I Thinking!"
Weekly Wager
Ok, here's the deal. Only Isaac and Jake have ever bet on the weekly wager, and I totally got owned. For this weeks wager I'm going college football, Big Ten. Wagers due by game time Saturday.
Wisconsin @ Iowa (-5.5) Oct. 23 12:30pm
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Stats Don't Lie... Week 5
We’re revisiting the column from week 3 with data for two additional weeks.
Through 5 weeks Divisional Scoring looks as follows:
| Punt | Pass | Kick |
| 1824.02 | 1653.64 | 1725.54 |
Giving each team a rank between 1 and 12 for both “points for” and “points against,” gives us the following ranks:
| Points For | ||
| 1 | Ghetto Gangsta | 515.36 |
| 2 | Makin' It Wayne | 494.48 |
| 3 | I Beat PregnantNDrugged Women | 488.32 |
| 4 | Floaters | 481.8 |
| 5 | The First Wives Club | 456.04 |
| 6 | Rackin it Up | 440.82 |
| 7 | MissNColtsNCOS | 426 |
| 8 | Lehman Brothers | 411.54 |
| 9 | WhenNRome | 397.24 |
| 10 | Maverick | 390.46 |
| 11 | DogPound | 375.28 |
| 12 | Defenestrators | 325.86 |
| Points Against | ||
| 1 | The First Wives Club | 471.14 |
| 2 | DogPound | 468.54 |
| 3 | MissNColtsNCOS | 462.28 |
| 4 | Defenestrators | 458.44 |
| 5 | Rackin it Up | 440.36 |
| 6 | I Beat PregnantNDrugged Women | 438.66 |
| 7 | WhenNRome | 430.06 |
| 8 | Lehman Brothers | 428.32 |
| 9 | Makin' It Wayne | 417.34 |
| 10 | Floaters | 414.64 |
| 11 | Ghetto Gangsta | 388.06 |
| 12 | Maverick | 385.36 |
Averaging the totals should demonstrate who has performed well given their strength of schedule. See the results below:
| Team | Average | |
| 1 | The First Wives Club | 3 |
| 2 | I Beat PregnantNDrugged Women | 4.5 |
| 3 | MissNColtsNCOS | 5 |
| 4 | Makin' It Wayne | 5.5 |
| 5 | Rackin it Up | 5.5 |
| 6 | Ghetto Gangsta | 6 |
| 7 | DogPound | 6.5 |
| 8 | Floaters | 7 |
| 9 | Lehman Brothers | 8 |
| 10 | WhenNRome | 8 |
| 11 | Defenestrators | 8 |
| 12 | Maverick | 11 |
Comparing this to the previous ranks, there has been some movement amongst the teams:
| +4 | The First Wives Club |
| 0 | I Beat PregnantNDrugged Women |
| +6 | MissNColtsNCOS |
| -3 | Makin' It Wayne |
| +5 | Rackin it Up |
| -2 | Ghetto Gangsta |
| +4 | DogPound |
| -1 | Floaters |
| -1 | Lehman Brothers |
| -4 | WhenNRome |
| -8 | Defenestrators |
| 0 | Maverick |
So, how is “The First Wives Club” at the top of the list and 1-4 on the season? This is because they have played difficult games and scored a lot of points. For the same reason, Defenestrators has fallen 8 spots. That’s what happens when you score less than 70 points combined in the last 2 weeks. At the end of 13 weeks, if you find yourself out of the playoffs, but in the top 8 of this list. You got screwed by the schedule. We know this, because Stats Don’t Lie…
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Current Earnings - Week 5
Hey everyone, here are the new STD earnings (get your minds out of the gutter...it means Season-To-Date).
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