FDH Fantasy Newsletter: Volume IV, Issue IV

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.

FDH Lounge #132: January 25, 2011

By Rick Morris

THE FDH LOUNGE (Tuesdays, 7-10 PM EST on SportsTalkNetwork.com) continues the momentum from last week’s fourth anniversary spectacular with yet another example of programming where “nothing is off-topic.”

After The Opening Statements of The FDH Lounge Dignitaries and This Week in The FDH Lounge, we bring on one of two classic clips to highlight the new FDH Lounge Ultimate Anthology project – which features well over 100 of the program’s classic interviews and roundtable segments. Our first clip is from Episode #65 on July 15, 2009 with longtime Major League Baseball announcer Chip Caray.

At the bottom of the hour, we bring on a guest rescheduled from the previous show, when an illness prevented the planned appearance: one of the greatest pro wrestling legends of all time, former WWWF Champion Superstar Billy Graham. He is one of the most influential figures in the history of the business, with his flamboyant muscles/tie-dye/barking charisma template being modified by the likes of Hulk Hogan, Scott Steiner, HHH and many others. In recent years, he is best known for his ministry and his rapidly fading health. He has announced that his last public appearance is coming up in the near future and we’ll certainly discuss that in the course of our conversation about his incredible career.

In Hour Two, we lead off with another of our Conspiracy Theory segments, this one about the virulence of the “birther” movement in America. Then, The FDH Lounge Pigskin Report starts off with an examination of how Twitter fueled the Jay Cutler injury controversy in real time on Championship Sunday, before we get into dissecting the games themselves and taking a first look ahead to the Super Bowl.

In Hour Three, we bring on our second classic clip for the night, one that will be in our FDH Lounge Ultimate Anthology: a segment from Episode #110 on July 14, 2010 where we talked to TMZ on TV Co-Executive Producer Charles Latibeaudiere and legendary pro wrestler and announcer Jerry “The King” Lawler back-to-back.

We wrap up as always with THE FANTASY DRAFTHELP.COM INSIDER and our first draft of the Top 100 Overall for the 2011 baseball season.

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 on iTunes. Also, you can sample THE FDH LOUNGE VAULT, a compilation of our best interviews and roundtables, now every weeknight from 6-7 PM, also on SportsTalkNetwork.com.

Championship Sunday Surround

By Rick Morris

The 21st Century Media Alliance presents Championship Sunday Surround, with on-the-ground coverage aggregated from a variety of outside media sources via Twitter. Today's presentation marks our 18th effort on the pro side.

PLEASE NOTE: While the Cover It Live software may classify the liveblog as being in "Standby," it is continuously updating from a variety of sources, averaging several entries per minute during the height of the day's action. You need only to click the play button to view the continuous updates and follow what has already been posted at any time. We hope you enjoy.

Championship Sunday preview

By Rick Morris

Happy Championship Sunday! One of the great days on the sports calendar for true fans has arrived with what is arguably the first doubleheader since at least 2004 with real intrigue on both ends.

In our weekly FDH Dignitaries NFL Picks Contest here on the site during the season, at 24-25-2, I barely outlasted FDH Senior Producer Steve Cirvello at 22-29. My picks in every game were 122-128-8 and 9-6-2 in my “1,000-Star Gold Plated Lock of the Millennium” selections. My picks will continue through the playoffs. Last week’s ones were 3-1, bringing me to 5-3 for the playoffs.

For more analysis about the playoff teams, check out our top three factors for each team.

Green Bay -3 ½ over Chicago. It is almost unthinkable to have these two historical beasts clashing for a trip to the Super Bowl on a wintry day at Soldier Field. Apex moments in an epic rivalry do not get any bigger than this. Chicago faces quite a dilemma in terms of their preparation for this game. Green Bay can be run on, certainly, and the Bears have managed to get through the season without running Matt Forte into the ground. Factor in the susceptibility of their secondary to the scorching-hot Packer passing game and the blueprint for keeping Aaron Rodgers iced for long periods of time becomes apparent. However, this runs completely contrary to the wide-open Mike Martz style of offense that the Bears have adopted. Their receivers are not good enough collectively to keep up with Green Bay in a shootout, though, and the Packer front seven is good enough to be all up in the grill of Jay Cutler as he tries to get the ball downfield. The Packers can reduce the odds of the Bears overcoming the firepower advantage by jumping out to a lead and neutralizing Chicago’s superiority on the ground. Look for exactly this, as Green Bay accomplishes what they were unable to do in the final game of the Brett Favre era three years ago. Green Bay 27, Chicago 16.

Pittsburgh -4 over New York Jets. These defenses are mirror images of each other in some ways; while the Jets are superior in pass defense and the Steelers are better against the run, both teams can get to the passer – and both quarterbacks are vulnerable to the pass rush. In the case of Ben Roethlisberger, this is due primarily to the occasionally-shaky play of Pittsburgh’s offensive line. Matchups will loom especially large, as Mike Wallace’s trip to Revis Island will hurt the Steelers, Nick Mangold will spar in the middle with Casey Hampton and Wayne Hunter has the injured Damien Woody’s big shoes to fill at right tackle as he goes up against LaMarr Woodley and James Harrison. The Jets are consummate road warriors, working their “us against the world” schtick better than most in recent memory. But in this rematch from last month, Pittsburgh will have Troy Polamalu back and that could well be decisive. It must be noted here how much this pick hurts me personally as a lifelong Browns fan and Steeler-hater. I will have some friends from New York at the game and I sincerely hope for their sake that I am wrong. Pittsburgh 23, New York Jets 16.

Championship Sunday notes and oddities

By Rick Morris

^ The Bears-Packers tilt is the first intra-divisional NFC Championship game since the 49ers beat the Rams 30-3 to move to the Super Bowl for the 1989 season. Dating back to the 1970 AFL-NFL merger, there were four such previous NFC Title games (1986: Giants over Redskins 17-0, 1982: Redskins over Cowboys 31-17, 1980: Eagles over Cowboys 20-7, 1972: Redskins over Cowboys 26-3). In the AFC, this phenomenon is much more common. The Steelers just beat the Ravens 23-14 two years ago in the last such instance. Previous ones dating back to the merger include 1999 (Titans over Jags 33-14), 1992 (Bills over Dolphins 29-10), 1985 (Patriots over Dolphins 31-14), 1983 (Raiders over Seahawks 30-14), 1982 (Dolphins over Bills 14-0), 1980 (Raiders over Chargers 34-27), 1979 (Steelers over Oilers 27-13), 1978 (Steelers over Oilers 34-5), 1977 (Broncos over Raiders 20-17) and 1971 (Dolphins over Colts 21-0). It should be noted that these matchups are understandably rarer since the NFL expanded to four divisions in each conference prior to the 2002 season.

^ Tying into the previous note, three of the four teams in the NFC North will have played on Championship Sunday in the past two seasons, counting the Vikings last year. Only once before in NFL history has a division seen three teams there in such a short span: in the 1999 season the Titans battled the Jaguars and the Ravens made it the next year. However, the AFC Central of that time consisted of six teams as opposed to the four who presently populate the four-division structure of each conference.

^ It’s impossible to believe, but true: despite Green Bay and Chicago having the league’s oldest and most storied history together, they have only made the playoffs in the same season four times, including now. The Bears’ 33-14 win over the Packers on December 14, 1941 marks the only previous playoff battle between the franchises in a contest to decide the old NFL Western Division. There have been dozens of great battles in the history of the rivalry, currently lead by Chicago, 92-83-6. But for the Packers, who fell behind for good in the 1930s and were then buried 30-9-2 in the 1940s and 1950s, hope lingers that they can catch the Bears, at least in the lifetime of their younger fans: they have won 28 of 44 since 1989.

^ The Jets and Steelers have no such long history between them, but there was the historical oddity about the former AFL franchise having never won in Pittsburgh since the AFL-NFL merger – until last month.

^ Should the Bears and Jets meet in the Super Bowl, it would come exactly 25 years after the 1985 Bears won the team’s last Super Bowl – with the father (Buddy Ryan) of current Jets head coach Rex Ryan as their legendary defensive coordinator.

^ This is the sixth time since the AFL-NFL merger that all four teams have played on Championship Sunday in the past half-decade (Chicago for the 2006 season, Green Bay in 2007, the Jets in 2009 and Pittsburgh in 2008 – the Steelers also made it in 2006, 2005, 2002, 1998 and 1996 over the past 15 years). Other previous seasons were 2002 (with Oakland in 2000, Tennessee in 1999, Tampa Bay in 1999 and Philadelphia in 1999 and 2001), 1989 (with Cleveland in 1986 and 1987, Denver in 1987 and 1987, San Francisco in 1988 and the Rams in 1985), 1976 (with Oakland in 1973, 1974 and 1975, Pittsburgh in 1972, 1974 and 1975, Minnesota in 1973 and 1974 and the Rams in 1974 and 1975), 1975 (with Oakland in 1973 and 1974, Pittsburgh in 1972 and 1974, Minnesota in 1973 and 1974 and the Rams in 1974) and 1973 (Miami in 1971 and 1972, Oakland in 1969 and 1970, Minnesota in 1969 and Dallas in 1970, 1971 and 1972). Obviously, the dates in 1969 refer to AFL and NFL Championship games. Aside from the immediate post-merger era of the NFL, it is very rare for Championship Sunday to be populated so thoroughly with teams who have been to the stage so recently.

^ With Mike Tomlin in the mix this year, Championship Sunday features a head coach who has won a Super Bowl. The previous two Championship Sundays did not (including the 2008 season, when Tomlin was on his way to his first title). This is pretty rare: from 2003-2007, every Championship Sunday featured at least one head coach who had already won the game’s ultimate prize. In the last 20 years, only the 2009, 2008, 2002, 2000 and 1995 seasons have seen Championship Sunday proceed without a coach who had never been to a Super Bowl, while 2001 (Bill Cowher) and 1999 (Dick Vermeil) saw Championship Sunday games where there had been no Super Bowl-winning coach but one coach who had lost in the Super Bowl. Interestingly, both coaches would get over that hump – Vermeil in that very season and Cowher four years later. In 1995, Barry Switzer emerged as a championship coach, but his historical reputation pales in comparison to two others who fell to him in that round and then in the Super Bowl – Mike Holmgren and Cowher.

FDH Fantasy Newsletter: Volume IV, Issue III

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.

NBA power rankings for mid-January

By Rick Morris

NOTE: Rankings for start of January in parentheses.

TOP TIER

1 San Antonio (1)

2 Boston (2)

3 Los Angeles Lakers (5)

4 Chicago (7)

5 Miami (4)

6 Atlanta (10)

7 Orlando (9)

8 Oklahoma City (6)

9 Utah (8)

10 New Orleans (13)

11 Dallas (3)

SECOND TIER

12 Denver (12)

13 Portland (14)

14 New York (11)

THIRD TIER

15 Phoenix (19)

16 Houston (15)

17 Memphis (16)

18 Golden State (21)

19 Charlotte (23)

20 Los Angeles Clippers (25)

21 Indiana (17)

22 Philadelphia (18)

23 Milwaukee (20)

24 Detroit (24)

25 Toronto (22)

26 Washington (28)

27 New Jersey (26)

28 Minnesota (27)

29 Sacramento (30)

30 Cleveland (29)

BIGGEST RISERS: Los Angeles Clippers (5 spots), Atlanta and Charlotte (4 spots), Phoenix (4 spots), Chicago, Golden State and New Orleans (3 spots)

BIGGEST FALLERS: Dallas (8 spots), Indiana and Philadelphia (4 spots), Milwaukee, New York and Toronto (3 spots)

RANKINGS BY DIVISION – 1 POINT PER RANKING SPOT FOR EACH INDIVIDUAL TEAM, LOWEST SCORE IS BEST

1 Southwest (55)

2 Southeast (65)

3 Northwest (70)

4 Pacific (85)

5 Atlantic (90)

6 Central (102)

RANKINGS BY CONFERENCE

1 West (210)

2 East (257)

NHL power rankings for mid-January

By Rick Morris

NOTE: Rankings from start of January are in parentheses.

TOP TIER

1 Philadelphia (3)

2 Vancouver (4)

3 Detroit (1)

4 Pittsburgh (2)

5 Tampa Bay (5)

6 Dallas (7)

7 Washington (6)

8 Boston (10)

9 New York Rangers (9)

10 Montreal (17)

11 Nashville (20)

12 Anaheim (16)

13 Phoenix (19)

14 Colorado (8)

15 Atlanta (13)

16 Chicago (15)

17 Minnesota (22)

18 Carolina (21)

19 St. Louis (14)

20 San Jose (12)

21 Los Angeles (11)

22 Columbus (18)

23 Buffalo (25)

24 Florida (24)

25 Calgary (26)

26 Toronto (28)

27 Ottawa (23)

SECOND TIER

28 Edmonton (27)

29 New York Islanders (29)

30 New Jersey (30)

BIGGEST RISERS: Nashville (9 spots), Montreal (7 spots), Phoenix (6 spots), Minnesota (5 spots), Anaheim (4 spots), Carolina (3 spots)

BIGGEST FALLERS: Los Angeles (10 spots), San Jose (8 spots), Colorado (6 spots), St. Louis (5 spots), Columbus and Ottawa (4 spots)

RANKINGS BY DIVISION – 1 POINT PER RANKING SPOT FOR EACH INDIVIDUAL TEAM, LOWEST SCORE IS BEST

1T Southeast (71)

1T Central (71)

3 Pacific (72)

4 Atlantic (73)

5 Northwest (86)

6 Northeast (94)

RANKINGS BY CONFERENCE

1 West 229

2 East 238

BREAKING NEWS: Bob Barker confirms WrestleMania appearance

By Rick Morris

This evening, on the fourth anniversary of the “Nothing is Off-Topic” Internet TV show THE FDH LOUNGE (Tuesdays, 7-10 PM EST on SportsTalkNetwork.com), legendary talk show host Bob Barker confirmed that he will be following up his Slammy Award-winning performance as Monday Night RAW guest host in September 2009 with an appearance at WrestleMania XXVII in Atlanta’s Georgia Dome on April 3.

The full interview is archived on the FDH home page on the Sports Talk Network website.

FDH Lounge #131: January 18, 2011

By Rick Morris

THE FDH LOUNGE (Tuesdays, 7-10 PM EST on SportsTalkNetwork.com) celebrates its fourth anniversary in a characteristically huge manner.

After The Opening Statements of The FDH Lounge Dignitaries (which will be punctuated by an on-air apology from Sports Talk Network President Paul Belfi to FDH New York Jets correspondent Ira Lieberfarb for his mocking of Ira’s alleged rah-rah coverage of the J-E-T-S last week) and This Week in The FDH Lounge, we revisit a clip from Episode #72 on September 9, 2009 when Bob Barker visited The Lounge for the second time two days after his epic guest hosting slot on Monday Night RAW. This sets up his third appearance, where we will continue to keep up with his post-Price is Right activities, including his best-selling tome Priceless Memories.

As if that were not huge enough in and of itself, our third conversation with Bob Barker is followed up by one with one of the greatest pro wrestling legends of all time, former WWWF Champion Superstar Billy Graham. He is one of the most influential figures in the history of the business, with his flamboyant muscles/tie-dye/barking charisma template being modified by the likes of Hulk Hogan, Scott Steiner, HHH and many others. In recent years, he is best known for his ministry and his rapidly fading health. He has announced that his last public appearance is coming up in the near future and we’ll certainly discuss that in the course of our conversation about his incredible career.

We then gather some FDH Lounge Dignitaries, including some “Charter” Dignitaries dating back to Episode #1, for a look at some of the show’s classic moments over the first four years.

Hour Three starts with a new friend – one of many we have been privileged to make along the way. Gary Herman is known as “The Prince.” He and his traveling cohort “The King” have averaged seeing over 350 sporting events per year for the past 15+ years. They have been to every stadium or arena in the NFL, MLB, NBA and NHL (and a great many ones no longer in use, thanks to the great turnover in facilities over that period of time) and a great many other college and minor-league stadiums and arenas. His blog Royalty Tours USA chronicles their ongoing journeys and offers opportunities for ambitious fans to join them in their adventures. “Prince” and “King” were at the Jets-Pats tilt Sunday and will be in Pittsburgh this week to cheer on their beloved Jets and so Gary will have much to discuss with us.

Then, THE FANTASY DRAFTHELP.COM INSIDER breaks down our 2011 FDH Fantasy Tennis Mock Draft.

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 on iTunes. Also, you can sample THE FDH LOUNGE VAULT, a compilation of our best interviews and roundtables, now every weeknight from 6-7 PM, also on SportsTalkNetwork.com.

THE FDH LOUNGE 4th Anniversary Press Release

By Rick Morris

NOTE: This press release announces the developments surrounding the fourth anniversary of The FDH Lounge program and brand.

THE FDH LOUNGE Announces Huge Guests, Initiatives to Celebrate 4^th Anniversary

THE FDH LOUNGE (Tuesdays, 7-10 PM EST on SportsTalkNetwork.com) marks its fourth anniversary on the air on January 18, 2011 with some incredible guests and an array of initiatives being unveiled that will further propel the show and the brand forward.

The Lounge, which started as a bi-weekly Sunday night program on January 14, 2007, moved to a weekly slot on Wednesday nights in December 2008 before assuming the present timeslot two years later. The credo from the first episode has been “Nothing is off-topic,” as The FDH Lounge “Dignitaries” tackled any and all interesting topics – ranging from sports, fantasy sports, pop culture, politics, geopolitics, music, movies, pro wrestling, general news and other areas relevant to their audience. In so doing, the show has lived up to the other original billing, “The Great American Radio Show on Internet TV.”

With the addition of FDH Senior Producer and Vice President for Strategic Planning Steve Cirvello in 2008, high-level guest booking was added to the mix in a substantial way. As such, the anniversary show is representative of the huge addition he has made to the show. The legendary Bob Barker will be making his third appearance in The FDH Lounge, in addition to one of the greatest pro wrestling legends of all time, Superstar Billy Graham.

FDH Managing Partner Rick Morris is quick to point out how every element in this incomparable mix has been instrumental in making the ambitious concept work so well.

“As executive producer and lead on-air host, I am privileged to be a part of the strongest, deepest ensemble of creative minds that anyone could ever assemble,” said Morris. “These people, who are also my great friends, have helped me back up my words about how great this project without any limits on subject matter would be. Additionally, Steve’s injection of guests, both famous and those who deserve to be famous, has given us credibility far beyond what we would have otherwise attained and we take the regard those guests have for us very seriously. The respect from our audience means the world to us as well.”

In a similar vein, Morris expressed his thoughts, observations and areas of appreciation last spring on the occasion of the program’s 100^th episode.

Further insight was offered by the man dubbed by Morris the “artistic dynamo” of The FDH Lounge, Senior Editor and Creative Director Jason Jones.

“I have had the time of my life creating our logos and other artwork in addition to the audio and video imaging of this program. FDH Entertainment Editor (my wife) Samantha Jones, has been instrumental in working with me in these areas,” said Jones. “It’s amazing to believe that everything we have built has stemmed from the origins of a conversation Rick and I had in a rainy parking lot in late 2006. We were so excited by the possibilities, but neither of us could have envisioned everything that has come in the last four years.”

The FDH Lounge (home page located here and moving to TheFDHLounge.com by March 1) has expanded into several other complementary spheres in the past four years, including blogging, an eBook and social media. Information about all of these projects can be found at the home page. The Lounge is also benefiting from a technological upgrade at their broadcast outlet, SportsTalkNetwork.com, making possible the following initiatives:

^ New HD cameras, being augmented by sophisticated video and improved on-screen graphics.

^ Full archiving of video programming as opposed to merely the audio versions available through the first four years at The FDH Lounge home page on The Sports Talk Network website.

^ The inclusion of the show’s entire catalog at The FDH Lounge home page on iTunes.

^ The FDH Lounge Ultimate Anthology (partially in place with a completion date of March 1), a selection of 125+ of the greatest segments in the history of the program, available both on SportsTalkNetwork.com and iTunes.

“Our show continues to evolve in a positive direction by continuing to add new concepts, core cast members and platforms,” said Morris. “It is a mosaic of countless media influences that we have had, as well as people who we have worked with professionally. While we do not know the shape or form, we do know that we will be experiencing more exponential growth between now and our fifth anniversary in January 2012 and we invite everyone on board for this wild ride.”

The Sports Mount Rushmore for American cities

By Rick Morris

NOTE: These lists have been compiled over the last several months and were debated on the January 4, 2011 episode of THE FDH LOUNGE (Tuesdays, 7-10 PM EST on SportsTalkNetwork.com). They are the athletes we consider to be the most esteemed for each city and the lists do not include coaches or managers. Few cities without three franchises in major sports leagues were included.

Atlanta

Dominique Wilkins

Tom Glavine

Greg Maddux

Hank Aaron

Baltimore

Johnny Unitas

Brooks Robinson

Frank Robinson

Cal Ripken, Jr.

Boston

Ted Williams

Bobby Orr

Bill Russell

Larry Bird

Buffalo

Jim Kelly

Bruce Smith

Dominik Hasek

Jack Kemp

Cleveland

Jim Brown

Bob Feller

Otto Graham

Lou Groza (NOTE: Lou The Toe had his image restored to Cleveland’s mountain after Lebron was sandblasted off last summer.)

Chicago

Michael Jordan

Ernie Banks

Bobby Hull

Walter Payton

Cincinnati

Johnny Bench

Pete Rose

Oscar Robertson

Anthony Munoz

Dallas

Roger Staubach

Troy Aikman

Nolan Ryan

Mike Modano

Denver

John Elway

Joe Sakic

Patrick Roy

Dan Issel

Detroit

Gordie Howe

Steve Yzerman

Ty Cobb

Barry Sanders

Houston

Hakeem Olajuwon

Jeff Bagwell

Craig Biggio

Warren Moon

Kansas City

Len Dawson

George Brett

Derrick Thomas

Dan Quisenberry

Los Angeles

Magic Johnson

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Kobe Bryant

Sandy Koufax

Miami

Dan Marino

Dwyane Wade

Bob Griese

Larry Csonka

Milwaukee/Green Bay

Bart Starr

Brett Favre

Hank Aaron

Warren Spahn

Minneapolis/St. Paul

Kirby Puckett

George Mikan

Fran Tarkenton

Rod Carew

New York

Babe Ruth

Willie Mays

Mickey Mantle

Joe DiMaggio

Oakland

Reggie Jackson

Ken Stabler

Marcus Allen

Catfish Hunter

Philadelphia

Mike Schmidt

Bobby Clarke

Julius Erving

Wilt Chamberlain

Phoenix

Curt Schilling

Randy Johnson

Kurt Warner

Charles Barkley

Pittsburgh

Terry Bradshaw

Mario Lemieux

Roberto Clemente

Sidney Crosby

St. Louis

Stan Musial

Bob Pettit

Rogers Hornsby

Albert Pujols

San Diego

Dan Fouts

LaDainian Tomlinson

Tony Gwynn

Junior Seau

San Francisco

Joe Montana

Jerry Rice

Willie Mays

Barry Bonds

Seattle

Jack Sikma

Ken Griffey, Jr.

Ichiro

Steve Largent

Tampa Bay

Lee Roy Selmon

Vincent Lecavalier

Martin St. Louis

John Lynch

Washington

Sonny Jurgensen

Sammy Baugh

Walter Johnson

Elvin Hayes