Early Nominee for NBA Picture of the Year

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The Heat are heating up, having now won five in a row to push their season record to 14-8. Granted, they are feasting on the lower rungs of the NBA ladder, and still have to prove they can beat elite teams, but every win counts the same once it comes time for playoff seeding. The Heat are currently tied for 3rd in the loss column.

Last night, the Heat’s two biggest stars – Dwyane Wade and LeBron James – were the key players in what has to be the most kickass photo taken yet this year.

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DT Haynesworth suspended 4 games

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Update: ESPN is reporting that Washington Redskins have suspended DT Albert Haynesworth without pay for conduct detrimental to the team. Head Coach Mike Shanahan said that Haynesworth "repeatedly refused to cooperate with our coaching staff in a variety of ways over an extended period of time." Haynesworth has been vocal about his unhappiness with the Redskins after switching to a 3-4 defense.

Fantasy Impact: The Redskins defense has been very bad recently and so Haynesworth's absence won't help the situation. This can be ignored in most fantasy leagues since the Redskins DST has had very little fantasy value all season.



The NBA Morning After: Glass Half Empty Edition

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The Morning After is a look at the night that was in the NBA along with other NBA-related fodder.

– Things got out of hand rather quickly in Indiana as the Pacers dropped an asteroid on the Raptors, 124-100. There should be a way to work an “extinction of the dinosaurs” comment into every Raptor loss.

– NBA to New Orleans: “All your Hornets are belong to us.”

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Photo Story: Desperate Measures – Peyton Manning’s Frantic Quest to Save the Colts’ Season

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Peyton Manning is one of the two greatest quarterbacks of my lifetime, with Tom Brady being the other. While Brady is the front-runner for the MVP and playing some of the best football of his life over the past two months, Manning is currently suffering through the worst stretch of his career.

Not only has Peyton thrown 11 interceptions over his last three games, a whopping four of which have been returned for TDs, but the Colts have lost all three to fall 1.5 games behind the Jacksonville Jaguars in the AFC South.

With the Colts having a short week to prepare for a divisional game against Tennessee on Thursday night, Peyton is understandably desperate to find answers to his and the team’s struggles. The photo story below shows the many different and unexpected places that Peyton’s frantic search for answers is taking him.

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Fantasy Football Week 14 Player Rankings

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Update: This rankings are from Wednesday.

Click to view my updated rankings from Friday.

————

HELL YES!!!

I still am not quite sure how it happened, but I survived last night and live to fight another day in the P&G-sponsored Blogger Fantasy Football League*. If you want to see just how unlikely my last second (literally) victory was, view this week’s start em, sit em post.

I’ll put it this way: before kickoff the Jets-Patriots game I asked my Twitter followers to give me hope that I could win. If you had then read the resulting feed of replies, you might have thought I’d just told everyone that I was suffering from a terminal illness. People told me to forget about it and to pray and that it would take a miracle.

And it did take a miracle: the recurring football miracle of Bill Belichick of Tom Brady, who continue to redefine their greatness with each successive season.

So what does my win last night mean? I’ll tell you:

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Fantasy Football Week 14 Start / Sit Picks

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Well, it all comes down to this.

As I put the finishing touches on this week’s Start ‘em, Sit ‘em post, I currently lead my Week 13 opponent (Brian Bassett of The Jets Blog) 61.22-36.20 in the P&G-sponsored Blogger Fantasy Football League*.

Before you get too excited for me though, take a look at who he still has left to play: QB Mark Sanchez; RB Shonn Greene; WR Danny Woodhead; TE Dustin Keller; D/ST New York Jets. Basically, if those five players average five points a piece, I’m toast.

What will make a loss burn even more is that the team I needed to lose, PUNTE‘s squad, did in fact lose. A win and I am a single game out of the final playoff spot with one week to play. I’ll have a fighting chance. A loss and I’m done, just playing Week 14 for pride.

Needless to say, I will be watching the Monday night game with great intrigue, hoping for a miracle.

Update: I don’t know how the hell it happened, but I won! Still alive baby!

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Okay, so maybe Facebook doesn’t totally suck (oh, and MSF is on it now)

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As many of you know, I have not been a particularly strong voice of support for Facebook over the last 18 months or so. In fact, I have vehemently opposed and avoided Facebook’s irresistible march to take over the social experience of the Internet.

The crowning “achievement” in my crusade to disparage Facebook was this post from March of 2010, which for a time was the #1 hit in Google for the search term “facebook sucks.” (And yes, I really was proud of this. Part of my day time job is search engine optimization, so you’ll have to forgive me.)

Here is what I said then:

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‘Hawks WR Williams out next week, maybe longer

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Update: CBSsports.com is reporting that Seattle Seahawks WR Mike Williams will miss next week with an ankle injury and could possibly be out longer. He has also been battling an ongoing foot injury. He isn't expected to be put on injured reserve.

Fantasy Impact: Williams hasn't been as productive as expected, so this injury is reason enough to drop him. But if there are no other solid receivers in free agency, stash him away for now and keep an eye on him heading into week 15.



TE Gates’ status uncertain for next week

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Update: NFL.com is reporting that San Diego Chargers TE Antonio Gates' status for next week is uncertain as he battles a nagging foot injury. Gates played last week against the Oakland Raiders but experienced severe pain afterwords. He said that he doesn't usually know if he will play or not until gameday.

Fantasy Impact: Gates is arguably the best tight end in the NFL, so his health is crucial to the Chargers. Keep an eye on him throughout the week as he will most likely be a game-time decision.



Frazier: Favre has sprained shoulder

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Update: NFL.com is reporting that Minnesota Vikings Interim Head Coach Leslie Frazier said that QB Brett Favre suffered a sprained shoulder in Sunday's game against the Buffalo Bills. He is set to have an MRI Monday to reveal the severity of the injury. If healthy, he will start his 298th straight game next week.

Fantasy Impact: Favre has played through plenty of injuries throughout his career and has managed to keep playing. However, he is 41 years old and has been banged up all year. Keep an eye on him throughout the week and prepare to start a different quarterback in his place.



Big Ben breaks nose, will have surggery

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Update: NFL.com is reporting that Pittsburgh Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger suffered a broken nose early in Sunday night's game against the Baltimore Ravens. He finished the game even after breaking his nose and with a broken foot. He will undergo surgery and is expected to play next week against the Cincinatti Bengals.

Fantasy Impact: Considering he finished the game it's safe to assume he will be able to play next week. The Bengals have been extremely disappointing this year so he could put up huge numbers. To be safe, keep an eye on him this week and have a backup quarterback ready to fill in in case Roethlisberger can't play.



TE Miller has a concussion

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Update: ESPN.com is reporting that Pittsburgh Steelers TE Heathe Miller suffered a concussion in the third quarter of Sunday night's game against the Baltimore Ravens. Miller was hit in the head by Ravens CB Chris Carr while trying to catch a pass. He was able to walk off the field after several minutes.

Fantasy Impact: While there was no penalty against Carr, it certainly looked like an illegal hit. For fantasy owners, keep an eye on him throughout the week to see if he recovers in time for next week.



QB Romo continues to feel discomfort

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Update: ESPN.com is reporting that Dallas Cowboys QB Tony Romo continues to feel discomfort after breaking his collarbone six weeks ago. He was expected to miss six to eight weeks but an MRI on Nov. 22 showed that the bone was still healing. His possible return is still unknown.

Fantasy Impact: Romo did some light throwing so it sounds like his return will come soon but not for at least another week. Keep him stashed away on the bench as he will most likely play better under Interim Head Coach Jason Garrett once he gets back on the field.



QB Romo continues to feel discomfort

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Update: ESPN.com is reporting that Dallas Cowboys QB Tony Romo continues to feel discomfort after breaking his collarbone six weeks ago. He was expected to miss six to eight weeks but an MRI on Nov. 22 showed that the bone was still healing. His possible return is still unknown.

Fantasy Impact: Romo did some light throwing so it sounds like his return will come soon but not for at least another week. Keep him stashed away on the bench as he will most likely play better under Interim Head Coach Jason Garrett once he gets back on the field.



WR Dez Bryant has surgery

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Update: ESPN.com is reporting that Dallas Cowboys Wr Dez Bryant underwent surgery Monday to repair a fractured right fibula (leg). Bryant suffered the injury Sunday against the Indianapolis Colts. The surgery came less than 24 hours after he hurt his leg.

Fantasy Impact: Bryant was starting to emerge as a threat at wide receiver despite the Cowboys' poor start to the season. Still, he isn't worth much in terms of fantasy and this injury doesn't help. Drop him and pick up a different receiver if there's still time before fantasy playoffs.