By Rick Morris
For the most part, we keep our fantasy content on our fantasy website and fantasy blog and keep this site for content on all subjects. It allows our readers to find specific content more easily that way. However, it has come to our attention that because our new fantasy sports newsletter is published on the older Blogger platform that our readers may be limited in their ability to subscribe to it. There does not appear to be a way to have content on the FantasyDrafthelp.com blog forwarded to an aggregate news reader -- however, we know that we have that ability here. So we will link to that newsletter each week right here when it is published. Here is this week's newsletter.
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
FDH Lounge Show #96: March 24, 2010
By Rick Morris
The “Road to 100” starts the final stretch run on THE FDH LOUNGE (Wednesdays, 7-10 PM EST on SportsTalkNetwork.com) with a huge pu-pu platter of the kind of variety we have always embodied.
Right at the top, we take a look at a wild first weekend in March Madness. Then, we welcome back Dignitary Steve Kallas, the New York-based lawyer, blogger and media personality to discuss a sad area where he is an expert: the hazards of aluminum bats. Another unfortunate shot to the head has left a California youngster in a coma and Steve will update us about the perils inherent in youth baseball – and we’ll also catch up on the Tiger Woods and Ben Roethlisberger cases.
When Hour Two rolls around, we convene our Dignitaries for an overview of the present NFL Draft landscape. FDH Senior Editor Jason Jones heads up our coverage and he’ll take us beneath the surface of the conventional wisdom about this year’s process.
Then we start THE FANTASYDRAFTHELP.COM INSIDER a bit early with a fantasy baseball industry summit that will be very similar to the one we hosted last August for football. We’ll be joined by the following individuals:
^ Tim Heaney, Managing Editor of KFFL.com
^ Mike Harmon, Fantasy Guru at FoxSports.com (who was also a part of the aforementioned football summit)
We’ll look at strategic issues specific and germane to the 2010 season as well as taking a broader overall look at the state of the industry. We close with THE GOON SQUAD and an in-depth examination of the way that the NHL playoff bracket is materializing.
As always, we urge you to watch the show live (or listen if you’re on dial-up), but if you can’t catch this as it’s happening, you can always catch the FDH archives 24-7 right here or catch us now on iTunes!
The “Road to 100” starts the final stretch run on THE FDH LOUNGE (Wednesdays, 7-10 PM EST on SportsTalkNetwork.com) with a huge pu-pu platter of the kind of variety we have always embodied.
Right at the top, we take a look at a wild first weekend in March Madness. Then, we welcome back Dignitary Steve Kallas, the New York-based lawyer, blogger and media personality to discuss a sad area where he is an expert: the hazards of aluminum bats. Another unfortunate shot to the head has left a California youngster in a coma and Steve will update us about the perils inherent in youth baseball – and we’ll also catch up on the Tiger Woods and Ben Roethlisberger cases.
When Hour Two rolls around, we convene our Dignitaries for an overview of the present NFL Draft landscape. FDH Senior Editor Jason Jones heads up our coverage and he’ll take us beneath the surface of the conventional wisdom about this year’s process.
Then we start THE FANTASYDRAFTHELP.COM INSIDER a bit early with a fantasy baseball industry summit that will be very similar to the one we hosted last August for football. We’ll be joined by the following individuals:
^ Tim Heaney, Managing Editor of KFFL.com
^ Mike Harmon, Fantasy Guru at FoxSports.com (who was also a part of the aforementioned football summit)
We’ll look at strategic issues specific and germane to the 2010 season as well as taking a broader overall look at the state of the industry. We close with THE GOON SQUAD and an in-depth examination of the way that the NHL playoff bracket is materializing.
As always, we urge you to watch the show live (or listen if you’re on dial-up), but if you can’t catch this as it’s happening, you can always catch the FDH archives 24-7 right here or catch us now on iTunes!
Sunday, March 21, 2010
How Buddy Landel’s friend JYD influenced society
By Rick Morris
On Episode #94 of THE FDH LOUNGE (Wednesdays, 7-10 PM EDT) on SportsTalkNetwork.com, we had the pleasure of interviewing one of the great stars of wrestling’s territorial days, “Nature Boy” Buddy Landel. We’ve had dozens and dozens of interviews in the course of our show’s history, but rarely have we had any thoughts that occurred to us afterwards that we felt would merit a column on the site – let alone two of them.
This one deals with our discussion about Buddy’s close personal friend and a major superstar who took Buddy under his wing when he broke into the business, The Junkyard Dog (Sylvester Ritter).
First of all, I want to mention the great poem that Buddy wrote immediately upon receiving word of JYD’s demise in a 1998 car crash. As a fellow writer, I told him how amazing I thought it was that he was able to summon up the ability to honor him so eloquently right after receiving such jarring and horrible news. His tribute can be read here.
We talked about JYD’s run in the Mid-South territory from about 1980 to 1984, when he was responsible for drawing more money than probably 99% of the wrestlers who have ever laced up a pair of boots. Buddy made an observation to the effect of “he was the only black guy in the world who could have signed autographs at a KKK meeting.” We laughed pretty hard, because it was a great line.
But the more you think about it, the more you realize the accuracy behind it!
JYD was insanely “over” among fans of all races in a Deep South territory about half a generation removed from the worst Jim Crow practices. To this day, there are certainly pockets of “peckerwood country” that contain, shall we say, less-than-evolved racial attitudes.
Given the composition of the wrestling fanbase in such areas, it is almost a certainty that there were fans who spoke words such as these, “You know, I hate how these ni#$%^& are getting so uppity. Somebody needs to put them in their place. By the way, did you see how The Junkyard Dog was beating up on Michael Hayes last week? Man, I would hate to be the Freebirds when JYD gets his hands on all of them!”
And while there were a great many fans who probably never resolved the internal contradiction of looking down on blacks as a whole and revering JYD, there had to be at least some who saw it for what it was. The textbooks teach us about Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks and other influential figures who played public roles in changing the malignant role of racism in society. They do not speak about a charismatic pro wrestler in the Deep South who won the hearts of people with a chain, some funky interviews and matches that struck a deep emotional chord with the audience.
But maybe they should.
On Episode #94 of THE FDH LOUNGE (Wednesdays, 7-10 PM EDT) on SportsTalkNetwork.com, we had the pleasure of interviewing one of the great stars of wrestling’s territorial days, “Nature Boy” Buddy Landel. We’ve had dozens and dozens of interviews in the course of our show’s history, but rarely have we had any thoughts that occurred to us afterwards that we felt would merit a column on the site – let alone two of them.
This one deals with our discussion about Buddy’s close personal friend and a major superstar who took Buddy under his wing when he broke into the business, The Junkyard Dog (Sylvester Ritter).
First of all, I want to mention the great poem that Buddy wrote immediately upon receiving word of JYD’s demise in a 1998 car crash. As a fellow writer, I told him how amazing I thought it was that he was able to summon up the ability to honor him so eloquently right after receiving such jarring and horrible news. His tribute can be read here.
We talked about JYD’s run in the Mid-South territory from about 1980 to 1984, when he was responsible for drawing more money than probably 99% of the wrestlers who have ever laced up a pair of boots. Buddy made an observation to the effect of “he was the only black guy in the world who could have signed autographs at a KKK meeting.” We laughed pretty hard, because it was a great line.
But the more you think about it, the more you realize the accuracy behind it!
JYD was insanely “over” among fans of all races in a Deep South territory about half a generation removed from the worst Jim Crow practices. To this day, there are certainly pockets of “peckerwood country” that contain, shall we say, less-than-evolved racial attitudes.
Given the composition of the wrestling fanbase in such areas, it is almost a certainty that there were fans who spoke words such as these, “You know, I hate how these ni#$%^& are getting so uppity. Somebody needs to put them in their place. By the way, did you see how The Junkyard Dog was beating up on Michael Hayes last week? Man, I would hate to be the Freebirds when JYD gets his hands on all of them!”
And while there were a great many fans who probably never resolved the internal contradiction of looking down on blacks as a whole and revering JYD, there had to be at least some who saw it for what it was. The textbooks teach us about Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks and other influential figures who played public roles in changing the malignant role of racism in society. They do not speak about a charismatic pro wrestler in the Deep South who won the hearts of people with a chain, some funky interviews and matches that struck a deep emotional chord with the audience.
But maybe they should.
The wrestling business needs Buddy Landel
By Rick Morris
On Episode #94 of THE FDH LOUNGE (Wednesdays, 7-10 PM EDT) on SportsTalkNetwork.com, we had the pleasure of interviewing one of the great stars of wrestling’s territorial days, “Nature Boy” Buddy Landel. We’ve had dozens and dozens of interviews in the course of our show’s history, but rarely have we had any thoughts that occurred to us afterwards that we felt would merit a column on the site – let alone two of them.
This one deals with Buddy’s place on the current pro wrestling landscape. During the interview, it emerged that he is hopeful that some tentative feelers that have been put in the direction of TNA Wrestling might result in a high-level comeback to the industry (that led, of course, to my inevitable joke that he was too young at age 47 to expect a push in TNA – since the median level necessary for that seems to be 55-60 these days). He indicated that he is back in great shape and because he was underutilized for such a long time, his body has not taken nearly the bumps as many other veterans his age.
But I started thinking afterwards about how hopeful I was that his efforts would bear fruit – and how much of a shame it is that he is identifying what looks right now to be his sole hope for breaking back out in a big way. If you don’t think that is true, examine the alternatives:
^ WWE: With the company’s lack of faith in the institutional memory of its audience, they would surely regard Buddy’s super-brief late-‘90s stint as something beyond the remembrance of today’s audience. That would leave them faced with the dilemma of how to get him over with a crowd that they might fear would not be able to connect with him. Bear in mind that in recent years only Jim Duggan and Tatanka have been brought back for big comeback runs and both were longtime WWF fixtures back in the day. They’ve also always had an inability to treat anything they regard as “southern ‘rasslin” in an appropriately credible manner, so you’d have to worry that even if he got in the door that he could get the right opportunity to be taken seriously. One shudders to think of him being saddled with a “hot tub time machine” gimmick (“and now, hailing from 1986, Buddy Landel!”) or being treated as an “NXT rookie.” If you don’t think the latter possibility could happen, consider that former ROH World Champion Bryan Danielson has been given that designation. Buddy would bring a breath of fresh air to the company, livening up the product with a style and charisma that does not come along every day, but unless the company were to experiment and free up a spot on Smackdown (which is the one place they’ve been halfway willing to take chances from time to time), it’s hard to visualize.
^ ROH/Evolve/Dragon Gate USA: While in-ring workrate has continued to improve from the 1990s in the country’s high-level independent promotions, it has come at a cost. There was room for the likes of Terry Funk and Tommy Rich in the ECW of the mid-to-late ‘90s and most people would regard that as a strong positive. But as today’s otherwise great promotions have taken shape, there is a uniformity of athletic expectation that is a bit off-putting. There could be no better evidence of this than the way that ROH “smart” fans shat all over Jerry Lynn – one of the truly great workers of the 1990s and a man who still puts most others of his age and experience level to shame – when he was working a comeback storyline en route to the ROH World Title last year. With that having been the case, it would be hard to imagine the fanbase being willing to give a fair shake to a man who unapologetically works a different style and who has never pretended to be a spot monkey (spoken as somebody who has a lot of appreciation for spot monkeys, by the way!).
In the pro wrestling business, variety is the spice of life. A man like Buddy Landel, who has a great story to tell in terms of beating severe drug abuse (the story he recounted on the show about WWF wrestlers telling him that they lost money on him in a “dead pool” back in the 1990s is astounding in its insensitivity, even for crude humor in a business known for it) and who projected great charisma and entertainment in the squared circle should be welcomed anywhere he has an interest in donning the tights (not addressed in this column are behind-the-scenes opportunities, which could conceivably be more plentiful in the aforementioned promotions and in which he could doubtless succeed as well). Instead, our hopes for seeing a high-level comeback are more or less reduced to the chance that somebody in Nashville will smell the money in “Nature Boy vs. Nature Boy, 25 years later” and make the consequential phone call. Such is life in a business with too few high-level opportunities and substantially fewer places with the wherewithal to appreciate a top talent.
On Episode #94 of THE FDH LOUNGE (Wednesdays, 7-10 PM EDT) on SportsTalkNetwork.com, we had the pleasure of interviewing one of the great stars of wrestling’s territorial days, “Nature Boy” Buddy Landel. We’ve had dozens and dozens of interviews in the course of our show’s history, but rarely have we had any thoughts that occurred to us afterwards that we felt would merit a column on the site – let alone two of them.
This one deals with Buddy’s place on the current pro wrestling landscape. During the interview, it emerged that he is hopeful that some tentative feelers that have been put in the direction of TNA Wrestling might result in a high-level comeback to the industry (that led, of course, to my inevitable joke that he was too young at age 47 to expect a push in TNA – since the median level necessary for that seems to be 55-60 these days). He indicated that he is back in great shape and because he was underutilized for such a long time, his body has not taken nearly the bumps as many other veterans his age.
But I started thinking afterwards about how hopeful I was that his efforts would bear fruit – and how much of a shame it is that he is identifying what looks right now to be his sole hope for breaking back out in a big way. If you don’t think that is true, examine the alternatives:
^ WWE: With the company’s lack of faith in the institutional memory of its audience, they would surely regard Buddy’s super-brief late-‘90s stint as something beyond the remembrance of today’s audience. That would leave them faced with the dilemma of how to get him over with a crowd that they might fear would not be able to connect with him. Bear in mind that in recent years only Jim Duggan and Tatanka have been brought back for big comeback runs and both were longtime WWF fixtures back in the day. They’ve also always had an inability to treat anything they regard as “southern ‘rasslin” in an appropriately credible manner, so you’d have to worry that even if he got in the door that he could get the right opportunity to be taken seriously. One shudders to think of him being saddled with a “hot tub time machine” gimmick (“and now, hailing from 1986, Buddy Landel!”) or being treated as an “NXT rookie.” If you don’t think the latter possibility could happen, consider that former ROH World Champion Bryan Danielson has been given that designation. Buddy would bring a breath of fresh air to the company, livening up the product with a style and charisma that does not come along every day, but unless the company were to experiment and free up a spot on Smackdown (which is the one place they’ve been halfway willing to take chances from time to time), it’s hard to visualize.
^ ROH/Evolve/Dragon Gate USA: While in-ring workrate has continued to improve from the 1990s in the country’s high-level independent promotions, it has come at a cost. There was room for the likes of Terry Funk and Tommy Rich in the ECW of the mid-to-late ‘90s and most people would regard that as a strong positive. But as today’s otherwise great promotions have taken shape, there is a uniformity of athletic expectation that is a bit off-putting. There could be no better evidence of this than the way that ROH “smart” fans shat all over Jerry Lynn – one of the truly great workers of the 1990s and a man who still puts most others of his age and experience level to shame – when he was working a comeback storyline en route to the ROH World Title last year. With that having been the case, it would be hard to imagine the fanbase being willing to give a fair shake to a man who unapologetically works a different style and who has never pretended to be a spot monkey (spoken as somebody who has a lot of appreciation for spot monkeys, by the way!).
In the pro wrestling business, variety is the spice of life. A man like Buddy Landel, who has a great story to tell in terms of beating severe drug abuse (the story he recounted on the show about WWF wrestlers telling him that they lost money on him in a “dead pool” back in the 1990s is astounding in its insensitivity, even for crude humor in a business known for it) and who projected great charisma and entertainment in the squared circle should be welcomed anywhere he has an interest in donning the tights (not addressed in this column are behind-the-scenes opportunities, which could conceivably be more plentiful in the aforementioned promotions and in which he could doubtless succeed as well). Instead, our hopes for seeing a high-level comeback are more or less reduced to the chance that somebody in Nashville will smell the money in “Nature Boy vs. Nature Boy, 25 years later” and make the consequential phone call. Such is life in a business with too few high-level opportunities and substantially fewer places with the wherewithal to appreciate a top talent.
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
FDH Lounge Show #95: March 17, 2010
By Rick Morris
The “Road to 100” picks up a tremendous amount of steam on Episode #95 as THE FDH LOUNGE (Wednesdays, 7-10 PM EST on SportsTalkNetwork.com) delivers its “St. Patrick’s Day/NCAA Hoops Mega-Spectacular.”
After The Opening Statements of The FDH Lounge Dignitaries and our look at This Week in The FDH Lounge, we bring in Paul Bessire, GM of PredictionMachine.com. His “Predictalator” simulates every game 50,000 times before it is ever played and as such, he has an entire NCAA bracket available for free through his website. We’ll talk about his statistical model’s record of success with major sporting events.
In the spirit of the day that the great Michael Scott has pronounced “the closest thing the Irish will ever get to Christmas,” The FDH Lounge unveils its first Fantasy Beer Draft. The Dignitaries chose their favorites from the following categories (the choices will be unveiled tonight and participants will be voting on their peers’ selections over the next week with the winner to be unveiled on March 24’s Episode #96):
^ IMPORT:
^ HIGH-PRICED DOMESTIC:
^ MID-LEVEL DOMESTIC:
^ CHEAP BEER:
^ MICROBREW:
We’ve also got a focus on NCAA hoops in terms of our interview with Mike McNeill, VP of Marketing for Hooters at the top of Hour Two. Via that link to their website, you can learn about how to get a free appetizer at the restaurant for “National Hooky Day” with the first round of the hoops tournament this week.
However, we’re not just “drafting beer” tonight, we’re also conducting our fifth annual FDH Lounge Brackets Draft as we apply the traditional concept of picking March winners to a standard serpentine draft and build our teams of schools. Also, don’t forget to check out our official FDH bracket, which should hopefully win you some big bucks in the contest of your choice (blank brackets available here).
On THE FANTASYDRAFTHELP.COM INSIDER at the top of Hour Three, we review the spring’s big headlines and we will help you to utilize FANTASY BASEBALL DRAFTOLOGY 2010, our free draft guide, to dominate your upcoming draft or auction. We close with THE GOON SQUAD and an in-depth examination of the way that the NHL playoff bracket is materializing.
As always, we urge you to watch the show live (or listen if you’re on dial-up), but if you can’t catch this as it’s happening, you can always catch the FDH archives 24-7 right here or catch us now on iTunes!
The “Road to 100” picks up a tremendous amount of steam on Episode #95 as THE FDH LOUNGE (Wednesdays, 7-10 PM EST on SportsTalkNetwork.com) delivers its “St. Patrick’s Day/NCAA Hoops Mega-Spectacular.”
After The Opening Statements of The FDH Lounge Dignitaries and our look at This Week in The FDH Lounge, we bring in Paul Bessire, GM of PredictionMachine.com. His “Predictalator” simulates every game 50,000 times before it is ever played and as such, he has an entire NCAA bracket available for free through his website. We’ll talk about his statistical model’s record of success with major sporting events.
In the spirit of the day that the great Michael Scott has pronounced “the closest thing the Irish will ever get to Christmas,” The FDH Lounge unveils its first Fantasy Beer Draft. The Dignitaries chose their favorites from the following categories (the choices will be unveiled tonight and participants will be voting on their peers’ selections over the next week with the winner to be unveiled on March 24’s Episode #96):
^ IMPORT:
^ HIGH-PRICED DOMESTIC:
^ MID-LEVEL DOMESTIC:
^ CHEAP BEER:
^ MICROBREW:
We’ve also got a focus on NCAA hoops in terms of our interview with Mike McNeill, VP of Marketing for Hooters at the top of Hour Two. Via that link to their website, you can learn about how to get a free appetizer at the restaurant for “National Hooky Day” with the first round of the hoops tournament this week.
However, we’re not just “drafting beer” tonight, we’re also conducting our fifth annual FDH Lounge Brackets Draft as we apply the traditional concept of picking March winners to a standard serpentine draft and build our teams of schools. Also, don’t forget to check out our official FDH bracket, which should hopefully win you some big bucks in the contest of your choice (blank brackets available here).
On THE FANTASYDRAFTHELP.COM INSIDER at the top of Hour Three, we review the spring’s big headlines and we will help you to utilize FANTASY BASEBALL DRAFTOLOGY 2010, our free draft guide, to dominate your upcoming draft or auction. We close with THE GOON SQUAD and an in-depth examination of the way that the NHL playoff bracket is materializing.
As always, we urge you to watch the show live (or listen if you’re on dial-up), but if you can’t catch this as it’s happening, you can always catch the FDH archives 24-7 right here or catch us now on iTunes!
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
FDH bracket for 2010 NCAA hoops tournament
By Rick Morris
NOTE: Upsets -- according to seeds -- are in bold.
MIDWEST REGIONAL
ROUND ONE
Kansas over Lehigh
UNLV over Northern Iowa
Michigan State over New Mexico State
Maryland over Houston
Ohio State over UC-Santa Barbara
Georgia Tech over Oklahoma State
Georgetown over Ohio
Tennessee over San Diego State
ROUND TWO
Kansas over UNLV
Michigan State over Maryland
Ohio State over Georgia Tech
Georgetown over Tennessee
ROUND THREE
Kansas over Michigan State
Ohio State over Georgetown
REGIONAL FINAL
Kansas over Ohio State
WEST REGIONAL
ROUND ONE
Syracuse over Vermont
Gonzaga over Florida State
Butler over UTEP
Murray State over Vanderbilt
Kansas State over North Texas
BYU over Florida
Pitt over Oakland
Xavier over Minnesota
ROUND TWO
Syracuse over Gonzaga
Butler over Murray State
Kansas State over BYU
Xavier over Pitt
ROUND THREE
Syracuse over Butler
Kansas State over Xavier
REGIONAL FINAL
Syracuse over Kansas State
EAST REGIONAL
ROUND ONE
Kentucky over East Tennessee State
Texas over Wake Forest
Temple over Cornell
Wisconsin over Wofford
West Virginia over Morgan State
Clemson over Missouri
New Mexico over Montana
Washington over Marquette
ROUND TWO
Kentucky over Texas
Temple over Wisconsin
West Virginia over Clemson
New Mexico over Washington
ROUND THREE
Kentucky over Temple
West Virginia over New Mexico
REGIONAL FINAL
Kentucky over West Virginia
SOUTH REGIONAL
ROUND ONE
Duke over Arkansas-Little Rock
Louisville over California
Texas A&M over Utah State
Siena over Purdue
Villanova over Robert Morris
Richmond over St. Mary
Baylor over Sam Houston
Notre Dame over Old Dominion
ROUND TWO
Duke over Louisville
Texas A&M over Siena
Villanova over Richmond
Baylor over Notre Dame
ROUND THREE
Duke over Texas A&M
Baylor over Villanova
REGIONAL FINAL
Baylor over Duke
NATIONAL SEMIFINALS
Kansas over Syracuse
Kentucky over Baylor
NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
Kentucky over Kansas
NOTES
^ The bracket is surely more "Chalky McChalkerson" than I would like, but the #1s that needed rose petals strewn in their path to make a deep run (Duke and Syracuse) got them.
^ I couldn't find a viable 5-12 upset -- so much for that cliche -- but I did pick two 4-13s!
^ If I have correctly forecast the national championship matchup, how epic will that be? Two of the game's best coaches matching up in the game for the second time in three years ... the consensus two best teams at the end of the season, with the classic "college powerhouse" in Kansas against the team of future pro standouts in Kentucky ... and the tradition, oh, the tradition of these powerhouses who are on a short list of the game's greatest yet have rarely crossed paths.
NOTE: Upsets -- according to seeds -- are in bold.
MIDWEST REGIONAL
ROUND ONE
Kansas over Lehigh
UNLV over Northern Iowa
Michigan State over New Mexico State
Maryland over Houston
Ohio State over UC-Santa Barbara
Georgia Tech over Oklahoma State
Georgetown over Ohio
Tennessee over San Diego State
ROUND TWO
Kansas over UNLV
Michigan State over Maryland
Ohio State over Georgia Tech
Georgetown over Tennessee
ROUND THREE
Kansas over Michigan State
Ohio State over Georgetown
REGIONAL FINAL
Kansas over Ohio State
WEST REGIONAL
ROUND ONE
Syracuse over Vermont
Gonzaga over Florida State
Butler over UTEP
Murray State over Vanderbilt
Kansas State over North Texas
BYU over Florida
Pitt over Oakland
Xavier over Minnesota
ROUND TWO
Syracuse over Gonzaga
Butler over Murray State
Kansas State over BYU
Xavier over Pitt
ROUND THREE
Syracuse over Butler
Kansas State over Xavier
REGIONAL FINAL
Syracuse over Kansas State
EAST REGIONAL
ROUND ONE
Kentucky over East Tennessee State
Texas over Wake Forest
Temple over Cornell
Wisconsin over Wofford
West Virginia over Morgan State
Clemson over Missouri
New Mexico over Montana
Washington over Marquette
ROUND TWO
Kentucky over Texas
Temple over Wisconsin
West Virginia over Clemson
New Mexico over Washington
ROUND THREE
Kentucky over Temple
West Virginia over New Mexico
REGIONAL FINAL
Kentucky over West Virginia
SOUTH REGIONAL
ROUND ONE
Duke over Arkansas-Little Rock
Louisville over California
Texas A&M over Utah State
Siena over Purdue
Villanova over Robert Morris
Richmond over St. Mary
Baylor over Sam Houston
Notre Dame over Old Dominion
ROUND TWO
Duke over Louisville
Texas A&M over Siena
Villanova over Richmond
Baylor over Notre Dame
ROUND THREE
Duke over Texas A&M
Baylor over Villanova
REGIONAL FINAL
Baylor over Duke
NATIONAL SEMIFINALS
Kansas over Syracuse
Kentucky over Baylor
NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
Kentucky over Kansas
NOTES
^ The bracket is surely more "Chalky McChalkerson" than I would like, but the #1s that needed rose petals strewn in their path to make a deep run (Duke and Syracuse) got them.
^ I couldn't find a viable 5-12 upset -- so much for that cliche -- but I did pick two 4-13s!
^ If I have correctly forecast the national championship matchup, how epic will that be? Two of the game's best coaches matching up in the game for the second time in three years ... the consensus two best teams at the end of the season, with the classic "college powerhouse" in Kansas against the team of future pro standouts in Kentucky ... and the tradition, oh, the tradition of these powerhouses who are on a short list of the game's greatest yet have rarely crossed paths.
NHL power rankings for mid-March
By Rick Morris
Start of February rankings in parentheses.
TOP TIER
1 Washington (1)
SECOND TIER
2 San Jose (2)
3 Chicago (3)
THIRD TIER
4 Vancouver (8)
5 Pittsburgh (9)
6 Phoenix (6)
7 New Jersey (4)
8 Los Angeles (5)
9 Buffalo (7)
10 Colorado (11)
11 Nashville (12)
12 Detroit (13)
13 Ottawa (10)
14 Calgary (14)
15 Philadelphia (19)
16 Montreal (17)
FOURTH TIER
17 St. Louis (20)
18 Minnesota (18)
19 Boston (24)
20 NY Rangers (22)
21 Dallas (15)
22 Anaheim (16)
23 Tampa Bay (21)
24 Atlanta (25)
25 Columbus (27)
26 Florida (23)
27 NY Islanders (26)
28 Carolina (29)
FIFTH TIER
29 Toronto (28)
SIXTH TIER
30 Edmonton (30)
BIGGEST RISERS: Boston (5 spots), Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Vancouver (4 spots), St. Louis (3 spots)
BIGGEST FALLERS: Anaheim and Dallas (6 spots), Florida, Los Angeles, New Jersey and Ottawa (3 spots)
Start of February rankings in parentheses.
TOP TIER
1 Washington (1)
SECOND TIER
2 San Jose (2)
3 Chicago (3)
THIRD TIER
4 Vancouver (8)
5 Pittsburgh (9)
6 Phoenix (6)
7 New Jersey (4)
8 Los Angeles (5)
9 Buffalo (7)
10 Colorado (11)
11 Nashville (12)
12 Detroit (13)
13 Ottawa (10)
14 Calgary (14)
15 Philadelphia (19)
16 Montreal (17)
FOURTH TIER
17 St. Louis (20)
18 Minnesota (18)
19 Boston (24)
20 NY Rangers (22)
21 Dallas (15)
22 Anaheim (16)
23 Tampa Bay (21)
24 Atlanta (25)
25 Columbus (27)
26 Florida (23)
27 NY Islanders (26)
28 Carolina (29)
FIFTH TIER
29 Toronto (28)
SIXTH TIER
30 Edmonton (30)
BIGGEST RISERS: Boston (5 spots), Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Vancouver (4 spots), St. Louis (3 spots)
BIGGEST FALLERS: Anaheim and Dallas (6 spots), Florida, Los Angeles, New Jersey and Ottawa (3 spots)
NBA power rankings for mid-March
By Rick Morris
Mid-February rankings in parentheses.
TOP TIER
1 Cleveland (1)
2 LA Lakers (2)
3 Orlando (3)
4 Denver (4)
5 Dallas (8)
6 Atlanta (5)
7 Utah (7)
8 Boston (6)
9 Oklahoma City (9)
10 Phoenix (10)
11 Portland (12)
12 San Antonio (11)
SECOND TIER
13 Milwaukee (20)
14 Charlotte (18)
15 Miami (17)
16 Houston (14)
17 Memphis (19)
18 New Orleans (15)
19 Toronto (13)
20 Chicago (16)
THIRD TIER
21 LA Clippers (21)
22 New York (24)
23 Sacramento (29)
24 Detroit (25)
25 Indiana (23)
26 Philadelphia (22)
27 Washington (26)
28 Golden State (27)
29 Minnesota (28)
FOURTH TIER
30 New Jersey (30)
BIGGEST RISERS: Milwaukee (7 spots), Charlotte (4 spots), Dallas (3 spots)
BIGGEST FALLERS: Sacramento and Toronto (6 spots), Chicago and Philadelphia (4 spots), New Orleans (3 spots)
Mid-February rankings in parentheses.
TOP TIER
1 Cleveland (1)
2 LA Lakers (2)
3 Orlando (3)
4 Denver (4)
5 Dallas (8)
6 Atlanta (5)
7 Utah (7)
8 Boston (6)
9 Oklahoma City (9)
10 Phoenix (10)
11 Portland (12)
12 San Antonio (11)
SECOND TIER
13 Milwaukee (20)
14 Charlotte (18)
15 Miami (17)
16 Houston (14)
17 Memphis (19)
18 New Orleans (15)
19 Toronto (13)
20 Chicago (16)
THIRD TIER
21 LA Clippers (21)
22 New York (24)
23 Sacramento (29)
24 Detroit (25)
25 Indiana (23)
26 Philadelphia (22)
27 Washington (26)
28 Golden State (27)
29 Minnesota (28)
FOURTH TIER
30 New Jersey (30)
BIGGEST RISERS: Milwaukee (7 spots), Charlotte (4 spots), Dallas (3 spots)
BIGGEST FALLERS: Sacramento and Toronto (6 spots), Chicago and Philadelphia (4 spots), New Orleans (3 spots)
Monday, March 15, 2010
Unusual ways to keep criminals off the streets
By Rick Morris
Some time ago on our FDH LOUNGE Internet TV show (Wednesdays, 7-10 PM EDT on SportsTalkNetwork.com), I was so angered by Michael Vick's plea of not guilty and his lawyer's accompanying arrogant statements that I took the air to proclaim a new idea that I had: that we put defendants under oath for their arraignment. That way, we could nail them for perjury if they pled not guilty and they were convicted and we could lengthen the jail terms. My lawyer friends all pretty much lit me up for that one, and maybe we would need to amend the Constitution to do that, but I think we'd keep more dirtballs off the street for longer periods of time with that weapon in the arsenal.
Born of a terrible tragedy just inflicted on the friend of a friend, I have another such idea.
This man, a good and decent individual if ever there was one (I am not naming names because I don't want their family name to show up on a Google search as a prop for my knee-jerk public policy idea), just suffered the agony of having his son -- a police officer -- drop dead of a heart attack when a criminal instigated a chase on foot. The officer, by the way, was in outstanding physical condition, but had a condition that was previously undiagnosed, as is unfortunately so often the case.
I would like to see the law changed -- again, by Constitutional amendment if need be -- to allow the state to charge a criminal for recklessly endangering the life of an officer under circumstances like this. In other words, the criminal would be taking the ultimate chance in a scenario like this. Officer drops dead, BOOM, manslaughter charge.
As with my first idea, I have a strong feeling it would be found lacking by my friends who have passed the bar -- but, as you might have guessed, that doesn't move me. Whatever the legal process might be, I say go for it. I haven't seen either of these ideas promoted elsewhere, so I'm especially glad for the chance to put these ones out there even though they make way too much sense to come anywhere near ever being enacted.
Some time ago on our FDH LOUNGE Internet TV show (Wednesdays, 7-10 PM EDT on SportsTalkNetwork.com), I was so angered by Michael Vick's plea of not guilty and his lawyer's accompanying arrogant statements that I took the air to proclaim a new idea that I had: that we put defendants under oath for their arraignment. That way, we could nail them for perjury if they pled not guilty and they were convicted and we could lengthen the jail terms. My lawyer friends all pretty much lit me up for that one, and maybe we would need to amend the Constitution to do that, but I think we'd keep more dirtballs off the street for longer periods of time with that weapon in the arsenal.
Born of a terrible tragedy just inflicted on the friend of a friend, I have another such idea.
This man, a good and decent individual if ever there was one (I am not naming names because I don't want their family name to show up on a Google search as a prop for my knee-jerk public policy idea), just suffered the agony of having his son -- a police officer -- drop dead of a heart attack when a criminal instigated a chase on foot. The officer, by the way, was in outstanding physical condition, but had a condition that was previously undiagnosed, as is unfortunately so often the case.
I would like to see the law changed -- again, by Constitutional amendment if need be -- to allow the state to charge a criminal for recklessly endangering the life of an officer under circumstances like this. In other words, the criminal would be taking the ultimate chance in a scenario like this. Officer drops dead, BOOM, manslaughter charge.
As with my first idea, I have a strong feeling it would be found lacking by my friends who have passed the bar -- but, as you might have guessed, that doesn't move me. Whatever the legal process might be, I say go for it. I haven't seen either of these ideas promoted elsewhere, so I'm especially glad for the chance to put these ones out there even though they make way too much sense to come anywhere near ever being enacted.
Sunday, March 14, 2010
FDH Fantasy Newsletter: Volume III, Issue X
By Rick Morris
For the most part, we keep our fantasy content on our fantasy website and fantasy blog and keep this site for content on all subjects. It allows our readers to find specific content more easily that way. However, it has come to our attention that because our new fantasy sports newsletter is published on the older Blogger platform that our readers may be limited in their ability to subscribe to it. There does not appear to be a way to have content on the FantasyDrafthelp.com blog forwarded to an aggregate news reader -- however, we know that we have that ability here. So we will link to that newsletter each week right here when it is published. Here is this week's newsletter.
For the most part, we keep our fantasy content on our fantasy website and fantasy blog and keep this site for content on all subjects. It allows our readers to find specific content more easily that way. However, it has come to our attention that because our new fantasy sports newsletter is published on the older Blogger platform that our readers may be limited in their ability to subscribe to it. There does not appear to be a way to have content on the FantasyDrafthelp.com blog forwarded to an aggregate news reader -- however, we know that we have that ability here. So we will link to that newsletter each week right here when it is published. Here is this week's newsletter.
Selection Sunday analysis
Posted by Rick Morris
UPDATED: Post-selection notes follow the analysis heading into the selection show.
FDH Chief NCAA Hoops Correspondent Nate Noy has been studying the brackets with greater fervor than any other analyst and he has released his thoughts heading into the final Sunday games.
^ The #1 seeds look to be awarded in the following order: Kansas, Kentucky, Duke and West Virginia. That would knock Ohio State to the top of the #2s, to be joined by Syracuse, Kansas State and Villanova. The #3s should be as follows: Purdue, Butler, Tennessee and Temple (or possibly Georgetown), leaving the either of those two to be joined in the #4s by New Mexico (also possibly a #3), Pittsburgh and Michigan State.
^ The last four in look to be Cal, Minnesota, Mississippi State and UNLV (with Oklahoma State having been the next team in line if Mississippi State had won the automatic bid from the SEC). The last four out look to be Utah State, Seton Hall, Illinois and Mississippi.
^ Out of the 31 conferences, 18 should be limited to a single seed.
^ Three non-major conferences should get two teams: Conference USA, the West Coast Conference and the WAC. The Atlantic 10 should get three and the Mountain West has three locks and should have four overall.
^ Out of the major conferences, the Pac 10 should have two bids, the ACC should have seven, the Big 12 should have seven, the Big East should have eight, the Big 10 should have four and the SEC should have four.
XXXXXXXXXX
Here is a printable bracket.
Nate predicted 63 of the 65 teams successfully, with only the "trava-sham-mockeries" of Utah State and Florida making it in over Mississippi State and Virginia Tech. The Hokies suffered for not being a traditional hoops power and the Gators got the benefit of being a highly visible program that the committee no doubt feels will pull well on television. And inamuch as the official scorekeeper seemed to allow for an entire game's worth of action when Kentucky got the putback to send today's game into overtime, sending the Bulldogs to the NIT seems unduly harsh.
Other observations:
^ Kansas got a bracket entirely inconsistent with being the #1 overall seed with Ohio State and Georgetown lurking as potential Elite Eight matchups. Georgetown has a tough 3-14 game with underseeded and screwed-over Ohio, but the Hoyas have an overwhelming stylistic edge here.
^ Tennessee stands out as the major conference team that got the biggest shaft in terms of seeding. By and large, though, it was the mid-majors who saw their representatives get underseeded, with Temple and BYU standing out in particular. At least the Cougars will be playing a wildly overseeded Florida squad, so it evens out to a small extent. The Owls, however, draw a Cornell squad that is also woefully underseeded.
UPDATED: Post-selection notes follow the analysis heading into the selection show.
FDH Chief NCAA Hoops Correspondent Nate Noy has been studying the brackets with greater fervor than any other analyst and he has released his thoughts heading into the final Sunday games.
^ The #1 seeds look to be awarded in the following order: Kansas, Kentucky, Duke and West Virginia. That would knock Ohio State to the top of the #2s, to be joined by Syracuse, Kansas State and Villanova. The #3s should be as follows: Purdue, Butler, Tennessee and Temple (or possibly Georgetown), leaving the either of those two to be joined in the #4s by New Mexico (also possibly a #3), Pittsburgh and Michigan State.
^ The last four in look to be Cal, Minnesota, Mississippi State and UNLV (with Oklahoma State having been the next team in line if Mississippi State had won the automatic bid from the SEC). The last four out look to be Utah State, Seton Hall, Illinois and Mississippi.
^ Out of the 31 conferences, 18 should be limited to a single seed.
^ Three non-major conferences should get two teams: Conference USA, the West Coast Conference and the WAC. The Atlantic 10 should get three and the Mountain West has three locks and should have four overall.
^ Out of the major conferences, the Pac 10 should have two bids, the ACC should have seven, the Big 12 should have seven, the Big East should have eight, the Big 10 should have four and the SEC should have four.
XXXXXXXXXX
Here is a printable bracket.
Nate predicted 63 of the 65 teams successfully, with only the "trava-sham-mockeries" of Utah State and Florida making it in over Mississippi State and Virginia Tech. The Hokies suffered for not being a traditional hoops power and the Gators got the benefit of being a highly visible program that the committee no doubt feels will pull well on television. And inamuch as the official scorekeeper seemed to allow for an entire game's worth of action when Kentucky got the putback to send today's game into overtime, sending the Bulldogs to the NIT seems unduly harsh.
Other observations:
^ Kansas got a bracket entirely inconsistent with being the #1 overall seed with Ohio State and Georgetown lurking as potential Elite Eight matchups. Georgetown has a tough 3-14 game with underseeded and screwed-over Ohio, but the Hoyas have an overwhelming stylistic edge here.
^ Tennessee stands out as the major conference team that got the biggest shaft in terms of seeding. By and large, though, it was the mid-majors who saw their representatives get underseeded, with Temple and BYU standing out in particular. At least the Cougars will be playing a wildly overseeded Florida squad, so it evens out to a small extent. The Owls, however, draw a Cornell squad that is also woefully underseeded.
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
FDH Lounge Show #94: March 10, 2010
By Rick Morris
As the "Countdown to 100" continues, THE FDH LOUNGE (Wednesdays, 7-10 PM EST on SportsTalkNetwork.com) brings another episode with tons of variety.
After The Opening Statements of The FDH Lounge Dignitaries and our look at This Week in The FDH Lounge, we turn our attention to the NFL Draft and the chaos of the young free agency period in this uncapped year. Then we welcome in one of the great veterans of pro wrestling in recent decades, "Nature Boy" Buddy Landell as we discuss his time in the ring and his new acting career with Hilary Swank.
At the top of Hour Two, we start early with THE FANTASYDRAFTHELP.COM INSIDER as we break down our sixth annual FDH Fantasy Baseball Mock Draft. It is, of course, contained in our brand new guide FANTASY BASEBALL DRAFTOLOGY 2010 (Pages 14-17). This mamma-jamma's got a set of content nobody else can match. Don't believe us? Check out this Table of Contents:
Page 1: Draft Philosophy Overview, Top 72 Overall
Page 2: Starting Pitcher Rankings, Draft Board Decoder, Lessons of “The Stat”
Page 3: Starting Pitcher Rankings Cont’, 2010 Don’t Be That Guy
Page 4: Starting Pitcher Rankings Cont’, Relief Pitcher Rankings, 2010 Sleepers
Page 5: Catcher Rankings, 2010 Overvalued, 2010 Undervalued, Offseason Movement Winners and Losers
Page 6: First Base Rankings, Injury Risk Management
Page 7: Second Base Rankings, Designated Hitter Rankings, 2010 Position Battle Overview
Page 8: Shortstop Rankings, 2009 Prospect Rankings, Long-Term Keeper League Prospect Rankings
Page 9: 2010 AL & NL Scarcity, 2010 Players With a Wide Range of Opinion
Page 10: Respect Mah Eligibilitah!
Page 11: Third Base Rankings, Suggested League Guidelines
Pages 12-13: Outfield Rankings
Pages 14-17: 2010 Mock Draft and Analysis
Page 18: Dollar Bin Players
Pages 19-20: Shea Stadium and Yankee Stadium Memories, Hall of Famer Andre Dawson
Pages 21-22: 2010 Topps Cards ReviewPage 23: FDH Standings/Awards Predictions for 2010 MLB, FDH Minor League System Rankings
Page 24: 2010 Fantasy Overview, 2009 Legitimate Breakthroughs/Reclamation Cases
We close with THE GOON SQUAD and one last look back at the Olympic hockey tournament -- one that we hope will not be the last with the next big event slated for Russia in four years.As always, we urge you to watch the show live (or listen if you’re on dial-up), but if you can’t catch this as it’s happening, you can always catch the FDH archives 24-7 right here or catch us now on iTunes!
As the "Countdown to 100" continues, THE FDH LOUNGE (Wednesdays, 7-10 PM EST on SportsTalkNetwork.com) brings another episode with tons of variety.
After The Opening Statements of The FDH Lounge Dignitaries and our look at This Week in The FDH Lounge, we turn our attention to the NFL Draft and the chaos of the young free agency period in this uncapped year. Then we welcome in one of the great veterans of pro wrestling in recent decades, "Nature Boy" Buddy Landell as we discuss his time in the ring and his new acting career with Hilary Swank.
At the top of Hour Two, we start early with THE FANTASYDRAFTHELP.COM INSIDER as we break down our sixth annual FDH Fantasy Baseball Mock Draft. It is, of course, contained in our brand new guide FANTASY BASEBALL DRAFTOLOGY 2010 (Pages 14-17). This mamma-jamma's got a set of content nobody else can match. Don't believe us? Check out this Table of Contents:
Page 1: Draft Philosophy Overview, Top 72 Overall
Page 2: Starting Pitcher Rankings, Draft Board Decoder, Lessons of “The Stat”
Page 3: Starting Pitcher Rankings Cont’, 2010 Don’t Be That Guy
Page 4: Starting Pitcher Rankings Cont’, Relief Pitcher Rankings, 2010 Sleepers
Page 5: Catcher Rankings, 2010 Overvalued, 2010 Undervalued, Offseason Movement Winners and Losers
Page 6: First Base Rankings, Injury Risk Management
Page 7: Second Base Rankings, Designated Hitter Rankings, 2010 Position Battle Overview
Page 8: Shortstop Rankings, 2009 Prospect Rankings, Long-Term Keeper League Prospect Rankings
Page 9: 2010 AL & NL Scarcity, 2010 Players With a Wide Range of Opinion
Page 10: Respect Mah Eligibilitah!
Page 11: Third Base Rankings, Suggested League Guidelines
Pages 12-13: Outfield Rankings
Pages 14-17: 2010 Mock Draft and Analysis
Page 18: Dollar Bin Players
Pages 19-20: Shea Stadium and Yankee Stadium Memories, Hall of Famer Andre Dawson
Pages 21-22: 2010 Topps Cards ReviewPage 23: FDH Standings/Awards Predictions for 2010 MLB, FDH Minor League System Rankings
Page 24: 2010 Fantasy Overview, 2009 Legitimate Breakthroughs/Reclamation Cases
We close with THE GOON SQUAD and one last look back at the Olympic hockey tournament -- one that we hope will not be the last with the next big event slated for Russia in four years.As always, we urge you to watch the show live (or listen if you’re on dial-up), but if you can’t catch this as it’s happening, you can always catch the FDH archives 24-7 right here or catch us now on iTunes!
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