Sports Mania : CBSSports.com Blogs

Big 12 Needs to Make A Statement Boot CO, Neb

Sun, 12 Sep 2010 18:11:55 EDT

A few months ago college football as we know it was on about to be changed forever. The way of the 10 and 12 team conferences was about to be traded for "super conferences" with 16-18 teams. The Big-12 was going to disappear and for whatever reasons, fear, greed, etc teams started to jump ship. Nebraska and Colorado bolted for the Big-10 and PAC-10 respectively. The sheep were lining up then it happened, the good old boys got together and saved the day. Thank you Big-12 and perhaps the Texas Legislature.

Several conferences have much to gain from the disappearance of the Big 12, especially the PAC-10 and Big-10, historic but subpar conferences because it made certain that they would be around forever. In my opinion this was a substantial loss of tradition and to the detriment to college football.

Duds and Sleepers for Week 1

Fri, 10 Sep 2010 3:07:11 EDT

Here's my take on the one dud and sleeper for this weeks games based on the Sportsline average rankings. This is to help you if you have a tweener at a position but I would start any of my sleepers over my dud's if it was my team. Of course without knowing your team this can only be a guideline but I'll take any specific scenarios if you want to throw them at me. Why listen to me? My success of making the playoffs every year and my championships speaks for itself.

Sleeper - Matt Ryan - Although the Steelers have a great defense, it is better against the run then the pass. The Steelers QB situation should allow the Falcons plenty of offensive opporunities. The Falcons will have trouble on the ground but will make up for it with success by air. Expect Ryan to start his breakout season with 250+ and 2 TD's, which puts him in the top 7 versus the sportsline consensus.

Cowbells here today,gone forever thx to dumb fans

Fri, 10 Sep 2010 14:41:59 EDT

The SEC's decision to allow Mississippi State to bring in cowbells at "appropriate times" was a great attempt to allow a team to have show their individualism and tradition. Unfortunately Mississippi State fans are going to blow it by returning the favor with a blatant disregard of the rules set by the SEC. Those simple rules as defined by the SEC allow the cowbells to be used at appropriate times, which are:

"pregame, halftime, between quarters, timeouts, after scores and during possession changes"

The audio and video shows that the cowbells have been ringing the entire game or at least the entire time Auburn was on offense. So you can go ahead and ring up the first fine for MSU $5,000. Next home game will be $25,000, then $50,000. The fine is capped at $50k. After each game the visiting team will be surveyed to see if they felt the cowbells were used inappropriately. Next year the SEC will re-evaluate the policy and when MSU is deemed to have been in out of compliance they will ban the cowbells forever. I can guarantee you the cowbells will not see another year in Starkville, MS.

Pick like a champion with 1-4

Mon, 30 Aug 2010 23:05:24 EDT

Having one of the first 4 picks makes things so easy off the jump but it is a long wait to get pick so you had better make it right. You know you're taking a RB with the first pick right? Conventional wisdom is taking a RB, no way you should take a QB right? Right!

1-4

Easy CJ, AP, MJD, or Ray.

The hard part comes when you wrap around for 2 crucial picks at 20 and 21. First decision is do you want to take a QB here or not. If you don't you've got to wait til your 6th pick and take Flacco. That opens up taking a1. RB (grant) and WR(Fitzgerald,) or 2. going safe with QB(Schaub) and WR (Fitzgerald)

Late Round FFL Bargains WR, TE, D,

Mon, 30 Aug 2010 20:31:24 EDT

Since I deleted this by accident here it is again. Doh..;.

As noted before these are based on 10 yards = 1 point and a TD equals 6 points. My rounds are 10 team drafts but you can still do the math to work out a 12 team.

Hakeem Nicks, currently averaging a ridiculous 75th and he’s one of the top 15-20 WR’s in the league. Since he’s going 48 -106 grab him 7th or later. But don’t let him go by in the 8th.

Percy Harvin, currently averaging 70th but has slipped into the 100’s. As the #1 WR for at least 6 weeks and maybe more depending on Rice’s recovery, he’s a definite #1 WRuntil Rice returns If you can grab him in the 7th or later he's a no brainer.

Draft like a champion with picks 5-8

Mon, 30 Aug 2010 20:11:02 EDT

Fantasy Draft - A guide to picking a Super Bowl Team.

To build a Super Bowl team your entire draft strategy should be based on where your first pick falls. This can differ a little bit year to year. In my opinion this year it's 1-4, 5-8, and 9-10 or 12. If you don't have the right strategy for your draft spot you're either going to end up reaching and wasting picks or waiting to long and ending up with sub par starters. Run your pick strategy from rounds 1-9 from there it's pretty much all about getting smart/value reserves.

I'd like to know how this works out for you.

This is a guide to the 5 to 8th pick in this years Draft.

Mid - Late Round FFL Bargains part 1 QB's & RB's

Sun, 29 Aug 2010 23:21:47 EDT

There are a lot of bargains slipping through the cracks in this years FFL drafts. I particpated in mock drafts on all different sites and already had my several of my leagues drafts this year. These were all 10 team leagues, RB/WR 1 for 10 yards and QB's 1 /25 with 6 for TD's.

Here's what I've seen.

QB's - This year has seen a massive early run on QB's. If you don't draft Rodgers, Brees, or Manning in the first round you probably won't see them. In fact they may be gone as early as the 8th pick. Schaub and Brady will be gone in the second Romo, Rivers may make the 3rd round but certainly won't make the 4th.

So, if you're the owner looking for that mid draft starting QB bargain you still have at least one great option. By far my favorite is Joe Flacco in the 5th or 6th round. He will post his best numbers by far this year thanks to Boldin, 3,600-3,800 yards and 28-30 TD's seem very realistic.