Calisportsdiva's Fantasy Football Manifesto

2 posts in one week? It's like Christmas has come early, right?

It's that time of year where I have to start planning for my fantasy football drafts. Yes, drafts. This year, for the first time in many years, I am not the commissioner of a league. However, I am participating in 3 fantasy football leagues this year - all using different platforms (ESPN, Yahoo and NFL.com). I guess it'll be a good way for me to judge which fantasy football application is the best.

I've been participating in fantasy football for about 6 years now. I'm no Matthew Berry, but as I sat down and actually starting thinking about my fantasy football drafts, I thought about some basic rules, per say, that are important to executing a good draft. I won't go into too much detail here as I don't want my competition to know who I'm drafting, but these are good general rules nonetheless.

First off, take a look at the fantasy football rankings that are provided by all of the top sports pundit sites: ESPN, NFL.com, Yahoo Sports, etc. Matthew Berry is a good source to start with. He updates his rankings weekly, and not saying he knows everything but he has been a fantasy football expert for ESPN for quite some time now, so it's not a bad place to start.

Other General Rules:

1. Study the settings of your league. It's important to know the details of what generates points for your league. In most generic leagues, QB's get 4 points for a TD pass while RB/WR get 6 points for each rushing TD or passing TD. This is important to know because overall, the most points gets you the win. If your league has the same amount of TD points for your QB and RB/WR? Drafting a good QB is crucial. If not, then you might want to look at top RB's if the top 2-3 QB's are already drafted.

2. Do not draft all of your players from your favorite team. Look, there's a place where you can proclaim your team loyalty in fantasy football. It's called your team name. Beyond that, if you really want to be competitive and win? Don't draft players from all one team. Because you see, there is this thing called a bye week. So if most of your players are from one team? During that bye week it's a guaranteed loss. And no one wants a guaranteed loss.

3. Bye Weeks. They happen, so when you are drafting make sure when you're drafting your back-ups that you pay attention to bye weeks. Nothing worse than drafting 2 decent QB's then realizing that they have their bye on the SAME WEEK. Most drafting platforms give you all of the information about the player: schedule, predicted stats, etc. So check that info out before you draft your back-ups.

4. Check for player cuts/injuries. Sorry to break it to you, but if you haven't heard, Chad "Ochocinco" Johnson is out of a job. The Dolphins released him, so he may still show up in your drafts as available (because the player rankings and availability was set prior to pre-season) but actually, he's not. Also important is injuries, Michael Vick was injured in the pre-season game last week. If you want him as your QB, check his status to see where he is before you draft him. Last thing you want to do is draft someone in the 1st or 2nd rounds who is hit or miss on the health side and may end up not playing for 3+ games.

5. Kickers are a dime a dozen. In fantasy football, you have to draft a kicker. You need to play a kicker. But very rarely (I say rarely because I've seen it happen once) does your kicker win the game for you. Kickers should be drafted in low rounds, towards the end of your draft. Ideally, you want to pick a kicker who's on a team that either a) scores a lot of field goals or b) score's a lot of TD's. But that's often unpredictable so...just draft a kicker. Just make sure he's the starting kicker.

6. Waivers. Watch the waivers and pay attention to players who break out, especially early on in the season. You never know what will happen in the NFL. But do this with caution. You don't want to drop a key player on a fluke one time performance. However, if your star running back is injured and his back up is called up? Might be good to try and claim that back up. And occasionally there are those players that you didn't expect to be Peyton Manning's go-to guy or Tom Brady's go-to guy but it happens. Pay attention to what's going on in the league week-to-week to manage your waiver options.

7. Don't congratulate yourself on your team name. Your team name can be funny, whatever. But unless your league has a prize for best team name? Don't go crazy.

8. Defense. You have to draft a defense, and there are only so many that are considered elite (ex. Steelers, Baltimore, 49'ers) so how do you draft here? Well, if you can afford to (meaning, you feel you have drafted well in all of the key categories so far in QB, RB, WR and TE) try and draft the high ranked defenses if you have the opportunity. Otherwise, draft a decent defense and look at your match-ups each week. If you don't have an acquisition/drop limit, you can choose a defense based on match-up. What does that mean? It means that there may be some defenses that are undrafted that will play games against bad teams. Not a guarantee and not something that should be done every week but worth a look. Just sayin.'

If you follow these basic rules, you just might find yourself in the position to win your league championship and ultimately:

Who doesn't want to win cash, right? It's why my team name in my leagues has become "Cashin Out." Because I will cash out at the end of the season.

But, overall Fantasy Football is fun. I love being able to talk smack to my friends or co-workers (I'm looking at you Jets West) when my team wins. And I also love the fact that it forces me to follow so many different teams and games so I appreciate talent more.

So there's my fantasy football manifesto for 2012. Stay tuned for more amazing sport musings from calisportsdiva.

Olympic Fever Over, Football Fever Beginning

I had a post Olympic Ceremony post ready to go but I got so pissed off about NBC cutting off the closing ceremony to show some silly sitcom that will probably be cancelled after one season and I had to miss The Who's big closing event. Epic Fail, NBC.

To sum up, the USA ended up winning the most medals and most gold medals, followed by China. The USA men's basketball team beat Spain to win team gold - but the bigger story that week seemed to be Dwight Howard being traded to the Lakers.



Welcome to the Lake Show, Dwight. Don't worry, the bar isn't set THAT high.

Anyway, the Olympics were great overall but NBC totally missed on not showing the closing ceremony in full, and forcing some lame ass sitcom down our throats in order to watch the complete ending of the ceremonies. I realize that may be harsh, but come on! If you're going to cover the Olympics and forgo all your local programming for it - DO IT.

Lesson learned NBC. Think about that before the Winter Olympics begin in 2014.

Random sidenote: Eric Idle in the closing ceremony was awesome. Why wasn't Monty Python integrated into the London Olympics sooner? And the Spice Girls Reunion? LOL. It was...okay.

So...football! Yes, preseason football is here as well as all of the speculation about players, coaches, teams and the like.

Preseason to me doesn't really mean that much. Peyton Manning threw 2 interceptions last week and that was ALL the national media could talk about. It's game 2 of the preseason. And he's with a brand new team. Speculate how you will but the regular season changes everything.

Andrew Luck had a great opening preseason performance against the Rams, but wasn't quite as stellar against the Steelers (but still decent, nonetheless).

The Rams looked pretty dreadful in the game against Indy, however, I was able to attend the highly coveted Governor's Cup Game (you can roll your eyes here) against Kansas City this past weekend and I have to say, was quite impressed with my St. Louis Rams. Bradford looked sharp, SJax was a beast, and the defense looked pretty good. Plus, we won the Governor's Cup. Hell yeah!

But, it's preseason. Blaine Gabbert has looked amazing lately but can that translate into the regular season? Highly debatable.

I had someone ask me recently what do I do when the Colts and Rams play, being I have been a fan of both teams.

I'm going to be brutally honest here.

My home team, is, and has been since they arrived in St. Louis, the St. Louis Rams. I cheered them on when Chris Miller "the concussion king" was QB. When Tony Banks was leading the helm and they were just...awful.

In the fall of 1999, I shared this joke with a friend of mine in the newsroom at DePauw University:

A man from St. Louis dies and goes to hell.
The devil turns the heat up to 85 and the St. Louis man says, "no big deal. This is StL June heat."
Annoyed, the devil turns the heat up to 95 and the St. Louis man takes his shirt off and says, "no biggie, this is a typical July St. Louis heat."
Still annoyed, the devil turns the heat up to 105 and the St. Louis man says "wow, this is hot but it's no different than August in StL."
The devil, completely enraged, changes the temperature to tundra setting and everything freezes.
The St. Louis man starts jumping up and down and screaming.
"The Rams have won the Superbowl! The Rams have won the Superbowl!"

Oddly enough, the Rams DID win the Superbowl that year. And that's the love of sports.

But point being, those who are true fans stick by their teams no matter what. I admire Cubs fans for their loyalty, for instance. They haven't won a pennant since 1945. World Series since 1908. Yet the Chicago Cubs franchise is one of the most well known and consistently has fans despite the previous statement. That's a love of  baseball but also a strong love of a team.

So back to football.

I've also become a Colts fan in recent years. This was mostly due to Peyton Manning. I admired him as a college QB, and admired him as a Pro QB. I went to college in Indiana and lived in Indianapolis for about 3 years after graduation. It was hard to not follow him and acknowledge his greatness.

And it's no secret that the Rams went on a decline from about 2003 onward. Still followed both teams, but it was easy to focus on the team that was winning more, and that was Peyton Manning and the Colts.

And I did. And I still have a lot to love about the Colts franchise. But, I have admitted to myself that I am more of a Peyton Manning fan than I am a Colts fan. The Rams are my team - they are the team I have spent the most time cheering for, and when I look deep down? It's the Rams that hold my highest team loyalty.

I wish Peyton well in Denver. But I'm not going to become a Broncos fan because of him. I will still cheer for him, but not in the same way. I also still appreciate the Colts franchise and what they have brought to football. There are players from the Colts that I love will never forget: Reggie Wayne, Dwight Freeney, Pierre Garcon, Bob Sanders, Dallas Clark, etc.

But, I am making a statement here for all of you: my team is the St. Louis Rams. And while I will still follow the Colts and hope the best for them, my #1 team will be the Rams.

And the Rams will do well this season, I think. Does that mean Superbowl contender? No, probably not this year. But with Jeff Fisher at the helm and the talent they have...they can turn things around quickly. I'm looking forward to a great 2012 season.

More insights and info later, including my Fantasy Football tips/guide soon!

Olympic Medal Mania

I have been so engrossed with following as much of the Olympics as possible that I've forgotten to post any updates. So much has happened since my last post. Gymnastics events are over, track and field are in full swing, and Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh Jennings won their 3rd goal medal in beach volleyball. Their total Olympic record? 41-1. They only lost 1 set in their 3 Olympic appearances. Wow. That is incredibly impressive. Congrats to them and yay USA!



To back track a bit to Gymnastics, Danell Leyva of the US won the men's all around bronze, the only medal the US men's team won during the London Olympics.

Gabby Douglas, "the flying squirrel" (does that mean I can call her Rocky? And if so, then who is Bullwinkle?) took home the women's all around gold medal  in a very impressive performance. Aly Raisman had a chance at taking the bronze but she tied with Aliya Mustinfina from Russia, and in the event of a tie, the lowest score is removed from both gymnasts and the average of the remaining decides the winner. Mustafina just barely edged out Raisman.

But Raisman would not go home with just the team gold. In the appartus competition, Raisman took the gold medal in the floor exercise and the bronze on the balance beam. Making her the most decorated female gymnast at this Olympics with 3 medals: team gold, floor exercise gold, and balance beam bronze.

Gabby Douglas won the all around gold but seemed to struggle in the aftermath, failing to medal on beam and the uneven bars. Perhaps she was spending too much time partying in the Olympic Village with Ryan Lotche (more on his partying "habits" later).

McKayla Maroney still has perhaps the best US gymnastics moment of this whole Olympics, but unfortunately that moment was during the team competition and did not repeat during The Vault competition. Maroney almost nailed her first vault, but ended up falling on her second vault, opening the doorway for Romanian gymnast, Izbasa, to aim for the gold. And she did exactly what she needed to do to steal the gold from Maroney, leaving her with the silver.  And boy, Maroney was NOT happy about it. Check out this photo:



This looks familiar...where have I seen this before. Oh! Right...

Yes, that's me. Sporting the infamous Sorensen smirk. Not quite as pronounced as McKayla's but the confusion is there.

Look McKayla, we get it. You're the world champion vaulter. You were expected to win. You are considered one of the best, if not the best, women's gymnastics vaulters of all time.

But...you weren't on this day. You still received the silver medal even after falling on your ass after your second vault. Do you know how many gymnasts dream of making it to the Olympics and never do? You get to walk home with a team gold and a silver medal on the vault. That's way more than most can say. Besides, nobody likes a sore loser. And Izbasa didn't fall on her ass.

There's a lot of other Olympic stories, of course. Did you hear the story that quoted Ryan Lotche's mom saying that her son only has time for "one night stands?" Um, wow. After stories about sex in the Olympic Village broke, this story certainly caused a stir. However, his mom apparently spoke out of turn. She didn't mean her son had a lot of sex, just a lot of dates.

Sure. That's what he wants you to believe mom.

We don't have much more left in this 2012 London Olympics. Track and field is well under way, and basketball's new "dream team" has not battled in a final game yet. The Olympic Games are winding down and will soon be in the history books. But there's still a lot to write in these last few days.

Okay, I'll admit something. I'm not as engaged with the Olympics as I was at first because...NFL is back yo! Yes, that is right. First pre-season game was last Sunday and to say I cannot wait until opening weekend in September would be an understatement. I'm so excited about NFL football.

Since I am not going to be the commish of any fantasy leagues this year, just participate (and dominate of course) I hope to spend more time each week on this blog with my weekly NFL thoughts. I can't claim that they will be more entertaining than Jimmy, Howie, Strahan and co. but I will attempt.

As for MLB...ugh, what can I say? For this Cardinals fan, it's going to be a rough final 2 months and the season winds down. Still can't believe the Reds are in 1st. A lot of work to do but in the end, I do think the Cards will at least snag a wild card spot and have a shot. And for this fan, that's all I'm asking for. A shot. Because if last year proved anything, it's that you just never know what will happen. We could still have a "12 in 12" season.

Final Olympic thoughts, plus NFL and MLB reactions/predictions to follow.

Oh! And I've heard from some of my friends, family, colleagues, etc that you enjoy my blog. I am glad to hear it - if you enjoy, please post a response! Would love to hear your thoughts and it helps motivate me to write more. ;-)

Rob the Jewelry Store and Told 'Em Make Me a Grill...

The 2012 Summer Olympics are well under way, and as always, has been full of drama, disappointments, and amazing feats of athleticism.

Did everyone notice the grill US swimmer Ryan Lotche was sporting after he won the gold medal (beating out Michael Phelps)?

If you didn't, you gotta check this out:



I had to do a double take at first. From my television screen, at a distance, I thought at first he had braces. Of course, upon further inspection I realized that he must have "robbed the jewelry store and told them make me a grill." I bet even Nelly would approve of this bling bling.


Hmmm...Nelly? Or Lotche?

After all, this grill was designed by none other than rapper Paul Wall and Johnny Dang, a "Houston jeweler to the hip hop stars who goes by the handle of TV Johnny." The cost? About $25 G's (or $25,000 to you non hip hop lingo folks).

Mixed reviews on whether people liked the grill or not. Lotche was not allowed to sport the patriotic piece on the stand, or else he wouldn't have received his gold medal. I guess an Olympic gold medal takes precedence over a $25G pimped out grill.

In other swimming news, Michael Phelps is now officially the most decorated Olympian of all time with 19 medals (as of yesterday, that is. I haven't caught up with all of today's events. Remember, I'm trying to not be spoiled). Congratulations to him, that is quite impressive. However, I would like to point out that I don't think that makes him the best Olympic competitor ever. In swimming, athletes have multiple opportunities to win medals, should they qualify. There is not just the individual races, which have multiple opportunities within each stroke category, but the IM's as well. Most Olympic sports don't give you that opportunity. Even in gymnastics, the most you can win is 6 for the women, 8 for the men and that's if you win a team medal, an all around medal and a medal on each apparatus. Not a very easy thing to do. But is it possible for a swimmer to win in the 50 free, 100 free, 200 free, 400 free, 200 IM, 400 IM, etc.? Not easy per say, but easier in the fact there is more opportunity and if your specialty is freestyle, you have a lot more opportunities than if your specialty is say, the vault in gymnastics.

That said, I'm not diminishing what Michael Phelps has accomplished. It is still a big deal. I just don't want to hear he's the best ever just on the amount of medals. There are other factors to consider. Most decorated? Absolutely. Best Olympic athlete ever? Totally debatable.

In gymnastics, both the men's and the women's teams had high expectations, though the women more so than the men. However, after the qualifying round the US men impressed and finished first as a team, so there were high expectations for a team medal.

Unfortunately, it was not in the cards for the US men. The team finals brought mistake after mistake, and the men's team was unable to overcome those mistakes, finishing 5th overall.

The women's team, on the other hand, did not disappoint. The "Fierce Five," as they are calling them, delivered stellar after stellar performance, including an utterly amazing vault by McKayla Maroney and a solid floor exercise by Jordyn Wieber. The Russians and the Romanians had multiple mistakes, where the US women did not. In the end, Team USA beat out Russia for the gold by 5 points - it wasn't even close.



The 2012 Women's Gymnastics Team becomes the second in US history to win the team gold. The first, of course, would be "The Magnificent Seven," who won in Atlanta and included that epic vault from Kerri Strug. Congrats to the women's team, it is well deserved. Looking forward to how the women perform in the all around and the individual apparatus competitions.

The final Olympic sport I seem to have caught a lot of, is synchronized diving. Not to be confused with my favorite sport, synchronized swimming, of course.

This sport is fun to watch, but I always wonder how exactly the judges are able to tell just how synchronized the two are. The scores seem to pop up quick and I'm thinking, "how in the world did they know that he was off by 1/8th of a somersault?"

And of course you watch some amazing diving routines and the announcers will say "ohhhh, and that just wasn't good enough." I'm sitting here baffled going, "um...did you see what they just did?" Same goes for gymnastics though I find the errors in synchro diving much less noticeable than those in gymnastics. We know if you fall or don't stick the landing points are docked. In diving, if you splash too much they take off points. Intense.

Much more drama to ensue as the Summer Olympics continues...