A sports blog by and for Midwest Sports Fans
If you’re reading this post right now, one of three things is happening:
One, you are in your league’s championship round and looking for some advice as you try to make the most important lineup decisions of the season. We congratulate you, and we’re here for you. Skip ahead and start soaking in the analysis as you go for your league’s equivalent of The Shiva.
Earlier this year, I chronicled the story of Fanball Inc., which shut down its fantasy sports franchises (CDM, NFFC/NFBC, and Fantasy Cup among them) that they had bought out previously. Since then, the original owners of CDM and NFFC/NFBC have re-acquired their franchises and now exist under the original umbrella.
This Sunday, ESPN’s Outside the Lines did a piece on another long-time fantasy sports franchise that ran into trouble in 2011 and ultimately shut down.
Let’s face it: The last thing you’re thinking about when you sign up for a fantasy league each year is Uncle Sam.
But he’s thinking about you.
I can’t believe it’s already week 13 of the football season. I felt like just a few days ago we wondering if the lockout would end in time for the season. It’s crunch time now for fantasy teams as we fast approach the playoffs for the fantasy league.
Let’s take a look at the crucial injuries for this week’s games.
All throughout the 2011 season you have seen me posting about and linking to FanDuel, and with good reason: it rocks.
And yet again, the fine folks at FanDuel are inviting MSF readers over for a freeroll contest where you pay zero to enter but can win real cash prizes. I just entered. If you think you can beat my team, you should too.
Click here to sign up and get your team: Friends Of FanDuel Freeroll
While the guys at Fantasy Football Crystal Ball haven’t posted Week 8’s official results yet, I feel pretty solid after looking at last week’s rankings.
Week 9 is yet another opportunity to steer you in the right direction when it comes to how players stack up with one another based on their talent, performance thus far this season, and Week 9 matchup. Rankings are provided below at QB, RB, WR, TE, and Defense/Special Teams.
Based on what they are being paid by their real life teams, and the production fantasy owners were expecting when they drafted them in the first two rounds, there have been no two bigger non-injury busts in fantasy football this season than Philip Rivers and Chris Johnson. (We’ll forgive Jamaal Charles and Peyton Manning for their season-ending injuries).
They are the stars of our latest photo story: “Bust Buddies”.
Week 8 of fantasy football has arrived, and the playoffs are seemingly right around the corner. While it is important to get your rosters set now for the long run, you also needs wins, especially during these bye-riddled weeks, to make sure you get a shot at the second season.
Here are some last minute tips on some players who could disappoint this week, as well as some others who are set up for success to help your fantasy team in Week 8.
I’ve never needed outside encouragement to gamble.
When I was in 5th grade, my friends and I would play cards and wager cassette tapes. I was destined to love betting after winning Metallica’s Black Album, Guns ‘n’ Roses’ Appetite for Destruction and Def Leppard’s Adrenalize (hey, they can’t all be winners) during recess at a mere 10 years old.
As an adult, my gambling has manifested itself in ways familiar to lots of men – trips to Vegas as frequently as I can muster, sports betting (where legal, of course), and most commonly, fantasy sports.
People love fantasy sports because they allow players the chance to have a rooting interest in every single game and because we humans are competitive creatures. Since my fantasy football teams have been a mixed bag this season, my curiosity was piqued when Jerod posted a link about Daily Joust, a fantasy sports service that allows users to play solo, head-to-head, and group fantasy games in a variety of sports.
DeMarco Murray was spectacular yesterday. The Cowboys’ rookie running back shredded the St. Louis Rams for 253 yards, including a 91-yard scamper on his first carry of the game. I will proudly pat myself on the back for seeing this one coming* and recommending him as a start to many people who inquired last week.
* – Okay, so I didn’t see 253 yards coming; no one did. But considering the amount of good RBs on bye, the matchup, Felix Jones’ injury, and the Cowboys’ lack of trust in Tashard Choice, the writing was on the wall for Murray to put forth a startable performance. Boy did he ever.
Murray was only started in 42% of Yahoo leagues yesterday, and he is owned in only 58% of leagues. The latter figure will preclude Murray from being mentioned in Andy Bottoms’ weekly Waiver Wire Pickups column (due to be posted later this afternoon), which is why I wanted to take a few minutes to write about Murray this morning, who will undoubtedly be in high demand on waiver wires where he remains over the next 48 hours, and with good reason.
But here is a side of the Murray fury that is sure to be overlooked: if you already have Murray, or if you are awarded him on waivers come Wednesday morning, you may be best served by selling high on him immediately. It’s possible his value it at its absolute highest right now.
We have lots of injury updates heading into week 6 of the NFL season, including the latest on running backs Rashard Mendenhall, BenJarvus Green-Ellis, and Daniel Thomas, so let’s get to it.
Every Sunday morning starting at 10:00 CT (11:00 ET) we are here to answer your last minute start/sit questions.
I’ll kick things off, then Zach will take over, and there might even be an appearance from Drew. There will not be a call-in show today, so pose your questions below.
Injuries!
Andre Johnson is gone. Ben Roethlisberger is banged up. Miles Austin is on the mend. Marques Colston is back, but when will he get on track?
With the bye weeks now here, the time has come when fantasy leagues are truly won and lost. If you drafted well, and got a little lucky, you should be near the top of the standings. But nobody can ever completely escape the injury bug. Managing your lineup properly when byes and injuries attack is what separates the good owners from the great ones.
So let’s look at the Week Five games and decide who to start and who to sit this week.
Leading up to last week’s Patriots-Bills game, Jerod found an interesting piece of fantasy advice administered by Yahoo! about Tom Brady.
As hilarious as it is that Brady is such an automatic fantasy start that Yahoo! gave us updates on his wife’s driving record and the effectiveness of the Massachusetts State Highway Patrol, I found this update on 49ers’ tight end Delanie Walker even funnier.
My fantasy team is about as good as the Bears’ O-Line against the Saints. Yeah…0-2, baby. But that doesn’t mean we can’t turn it around!
Let’s take a look at the fantasy football-relevant injuries going into week 3, including Peyton Hillis, Tony Romo, and Beanie Wells.
