By Rick Morris
Mid-December rankings in parentheses.
TOP TIER
1 Cleveland (5)
2 LA Lakers (1)
3 Orlando (3)
4 Boston (2)
5 Atlanta (4)
6 Dallas (6)
7 Phoenix (8)
8 Denver (7)
9 San Antonio (11)
10 Portland (10)
11 Houston (12)
12 Utah (9)
13 Oklahoma City (13)
SECOND TIER
14 Miami (14)
15 Toronto (17)
16 Memphis (19)
17 New Orleans (18)
18 LA Clippers (21)
19 Sacramento (20)
20 Chicago (23)
21 Charlotte (22)
22 Milwaukee (15)
23 New York (26)
24 Detroit (16)
25 Washington (25)
26 Indiana (24)
27 Golden State (27)
28 Philadelphia (28)
29 Minnesota (29)
THIRD TIER
30 New Jersey (30)
BIGGEST RISERS: Cleveland (4 spots), Chicago, Memphis and New York (3 spots)
BIGGEST FALLERS: Detroit (8 spots), Milwaukee (7 spots), LA Clippers, Utah (3 spots)
Saturday, January 2, 2010
NFL Week Seventeen power rankings
By Rick Morris
NOTE: Previous ratings in parentheses.
FIRST TIER: BEST OF THE BEST
1 San Diego (3)
2 Indianapolis (2)
3 New Orleans (1)
SECOND TIER: OTHER SUPER BOWL CONTENDERS
4 Arizona (5)
5 Philadelphia (6)
THIRD TIER: PLAYOFF FILLER AND POTENTIAL PLAYOFF FILLER
6 Minnesota (4)
7 New England (8)
8 Cincinnati (7)
9 Green Bay (9)
10 Dallas (12)
11 Baltimore (13)
12 Pittsburgh (16)
13 NY Jets (19)
14 Denver (11)
15 Houston (17)
THIRD TIER: BARELY ABOVE-AVERAGE TO AVERAGE
16 Miami (15)
17 Atlanta (20)
18 NY Giants (10)
19 Tennessee (14)
20 Jacksonville (18)
21 San Francisco (21)
22 Carolina (22)
FOURTH TIER: VERY BAD, BUT NOT THE WORST
23 Chicago (23)
24 Seattle (24)
FIFTH TIER: TEAMS WITHOUT ANY REDEEMING VALUE WHATSOEVER
25 Washington (25)
26 Buffalo (26)
27 Tampa Bay (29)
28 Cleveland (30)
29 Oakland (27)
30 Kansas City (28)
31 Detroit (31)
32 St. Louis (32)
BIGGEST RISERS: NY Jets (6 spots), Pittsburgh (4 spots), Atlanta (3 spots)
BIGGEST FALLERS: NY Giants (8 spots), Tennessee (5 spots), Denver (3 spots)
NOTE: Previous ratings in parentheses.
FIRST TIER: BEST OF THE BEST
1 San Diego (3)
2 Indianapolis (2)
3 New Orleans (1)
SECOND TIER: OTHER SUPER BOWL CONTENDERS
4 Arizona (5)
5 Philadelphia (6)
THIRD TIER: PLAYOFF FILLER AND POTENTIAL PLAYOFF FILLER
6 Minnesota (4)
7 New England (8)
8 Cincinnati (7)
9 Green Bay (9)
10 Dallas (12)
11 Baltimore (13)
12 Pittsburgh (16)
13 NY Jets (19)
14 Denver (11)
15 Houston (17)
THIRD TIER: BARELY ABOVE-AVERAGE TO AVERAGE
16 Miami (15)
17 Atlanta (20)
18 NY Giants (10)
19 Tennessee (14)
20 Jacksonville (18)
21 San Francisco (21)
22 Carolina (22)
FOURTH TIER: VERY BAD, BUT NOT THE WORST
23 Chicago (23)
24 Seattle (24)
FIFTH TIER: TEAMS WITHOUT ANY REDEEMING VALUE WHATSOEVER
25 Washington (25)
26 Buffalo (26)
27 Tampa Bay (29)
28 Cleveland (30)
29 Oakland (27)
30 Kansas City (28)
31 Detroit (31)
32 St. Louis (32)
BIGGEST RISERS: NY Jets (6 spots), Pittsburgh (4 spots), Atlanta (3 spots)
BIGGEST FALLERS: NY Giants (8 spots), Tennessee (5 spots), Denver (3 spots)
Friday, January 1, 2010
Happy New Year
By Rick Morris
Happy New Year to all and here's hoping for a better year and decade than what we have endured. Here's a New Year's Eve countdown video from yesterday from Hong Kong, where they always do it in style, yo.
Happy New Year to all and here's hoping for a better year and decade than what we have endured. Here's a New Year's Eve countdown video from yesterday from Hong Kong, where they always do it in style, yo.
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
FDH Lounge Show #85: December 30, 2009
By Rick Morris
The 85th episode of THE FDH LOUNGE (Wednesdays, 7-10 PM EST on SportsTalkNetwork.com) is of course our final one of the year and the decade and it will be one to remember.
Last week, we devoted our entire program to the release of our eBook DISSECTING THE DECADES: THE FDH LOUNGE LOOKS BACK AND AHEAD AT THE FIRST 20 YEARS OF THE NEW MILLENNIUM. You can read the book's explanatory statement and Table of Contents here. If you haven’t checked it out already, we urge you to partake of the free download here. Tonight’s program is a bit of a counterpoint, as we narrow our focus to a review of 2009.
After we look at This Week in The FDH Lounge and The Opening Statements of The FDH Lounge Dignitaries, we move into a breakdown of the political scene in this first year of the Obama Administration with one guest we welcome back – Colin Delany of ePolitics.com, who has just made this eBook available – and one new guest, the first practicing CPA ever elected to Congress, Joseph DioGuardi. As one of the few people who really understands the scope of what we are up against with the huge debt this country has piled up – and has chronicled these matters in a book – the perspective of the onetime congressman will be greatly welcomed along with Colin’s.
In Hour Two, we move into the year in movies with two great return guests, Ben Lyons of E! Entertainment Television and countless other outlets and a man who certainly covers a wide array of cinema, S.T. VanAirsdale of Movieline and The Reeler. At that point, due to a special guest at the top of the third hour, we move a bit earlier than usual into THE FANTASYDRAFTHELP.COM INSIDER with a look at NFL Week 17.
That guest in Hour Three? None other than investigative journalist Irv Muchnick, author of a number of books having to do with pro wrestling, including one on some overall horrors of the business and a new one specifically on the Benoit family tragedy. He’ll help us examine why the biggest story of the decade in this business was so easily contained, relatively speaking, by the WWE.
Our GOON SQUAD then concludes with a look at the present NHL standings as well as a review of the top stories in hockey in 2009.
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 85th episode of THE FDH LOUNGE (Wednesdays, 7-10 PM EST on SportsTalkNetwork.com) is of course our final one of the year and the decade and it will be one to remember.
Last week, we devoted our entire program to the release of our eBook DISSECTING THE DECADES: THE FDH LOUNGE LOOKS BACK AND AHEAD AT THE FIRST 20 YEARS OF THE NEW MILLENNIUM. You can read the book's explanatory statement and Table of Contents here. If you haven’t checked it out already, we urge you to partake of the free download here. Tonight’s program is a bit of a counterpoint, as we narrow our focus to a review of 2009.
After we look at This Week in The FDH Lounge and The Opening Statements of The FDH Lounge Dignitaries, we move into a breakdown of the political scene in this first year of the Obama Administration with one guest we welcome back – Colin Delany of ePolitics.com, who has just made this eBook available – and one new guest, the first practicing CPA ever elected to Congress, Joseph DioGuardi. As one of the few people who really understands the scope of what we are up against with the huge debt this country has piled up – and has chronicled these matters in a book – the perspective of the onetime congressman will be greatly welcomed along with Colin’s.
In Hour Two, we move into the year in movies with two great return guests, Ben Lyons of E! Entertainment Television and countless other outlets and a man who certainly covers a wide array of cinema, S.T. VanAirsdale of Movieline and The Reeler. At that point, due to a special guest at the top of the third hour, we move a bit earlier than usual into THE FANTASYDRAFTHELP.COM INSIDER with a look at NFL Week 17.
That guest in Hour Three? None other than investigative journalist Irv Muchnick, author of a number of books having to do with pro wrestling, including one on some overall horrors of the business and a new one specifically on the Benoit family tragedy. He’ll help us examine why the biggest story of the decade in this business was so easily contained, relatively speaking, by the WWE.
Our GOON SQUAD then concludes with a look at the present NHL standings as well as a review of the top stories in hockey in 2009.
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, December 27, 2009
Urban Meyer press conference liveblog
By Rick Morris
"Retirement" was short-lived. Now Urban Meyer is moving towards a leave of absence. We will cover the press conference live.
"Retirement" was short-lived. Now Urban Meyer is moving towards a leave of absence. We will cover the press conference live.
Video Clips: Yacht Rock
By Rick Morris
It's difficult to sum up these videos, so I won't try very hard. Suffice to say that they are faux-histories of developments in some of the cheesier 1970s and 1980s pop music. If you aren't laughing so hard that you're reaching for a pair of Depends, you probably don't have a very good sense of humor. Enjoy!
It's difficult to sum up these videos, so I won't try very hard. Suffice to say that they are faux-histories of developments in some of the cheesier 1970s and 1980s pop music. If you aren't laughing so hard that you're reaching for a pair of Depends, you probably don't have a very good sense of humor. Enjoy!
Sportsology: Fenway history & The Winter Classic
Posted by Rick Morris
As was the case last year, we'll be getting updates about the NHL Winter Classic from our good pal Russ Cohen of Sportsology, who will be covering the event as he always does. To get you ready for that, here's a column from him about the historic ballpark hosting the event and the nature of the game itself.
Bowling Preceded Hockey at Fenway Park
By Russ Cohen
The Winter Classic is just around the corner and I can’t wait. I have covered every NHL outdoor game, not counting the Rangers-Kings in Vegas, and this one should be a classic. So as I searched the annals of Fenway Park, I looked to see what other major sporting events they’ve had over the years that didn’t include the Boston Red Sox and I was able to find out that they once had Professional Bowling there. This tale was told to me. I couldn’t find it in print. So I believe the source, since his recollection seemed legitimate.
Back in the days of Don Carter, bowling’s first million-dollar man, he ended up bringing other top bowler’s of his era, in the late 50’s and they had an exhibition in Fenway Park. The lanes were setup outside and the park wasn’t sold out, but there were quite a few attendees. In a weird six-degrees-of-separation connection, Carter was actually signed to a baseball deal, as an infielder, by the Philadelphia Athletics.
The stadium is the oldest baseball MLB stadium that’s currently in use in the states; it first opened in 1912. It cost $650,000 to build the entire baseball palace and now the one hockey game will certainly exceed that price tag since the truck and equipment that the league purchased in 2008 cost more than $1.5 million.
In these games, it doesn’t matter which team has the better record. It doesn’t matter if they are Stanley Cup-bound, what matters is that they have fun. I have never seen one hockey player that didn’t have a ball at this event. They loved every minute of it.
“Maybe we’ll have other chances to do this, maybe not,” Sidney Crosby said back in 2008, hoping that he would get a chance to do this again. “Maybe there will be other teams.”
“I had fun today,” said Wayne Gretzky, back in 2003 at the postgame press conference for the Mega Stars Game during the Heritage Classic. “I think it’s great and what happened this weekend I wouldn’t trade in for the world, it was pretty special. Again, how do you duplicate this weekend? The fans were wonderful and the players were excited.”
For Wayne, this was a real family event. His wife Janet was sitting with her young sons as they got to see their dad play hockey one more time. Wayne had a son with him in the locker room after a practice the day before.
Mark Messier was shoveling the snow off the ice when he got a chance to experience outdoor hockey once again, and he knew it was special.
“As a kid, losers had to do the ice for the next game coming on,” said the Famous Number 11. “I think it’s kind of the way the whole weekend was supposed to be…it’s supposed to be getting back to the grass roots of hockey. What it’s supposed to be, where it s come from and what it should be even at this level.”
Ty Conklin won’t be playing in this one, but he is most known for playing in the previous three. He talked about how cold each of them was and now we’ll see if Boston can have that distinction.
“It wasn’t nearly as cold as the Edmonton game. It got colder as the game went on. It was colder than in Buffalo last year,” he said, talking about Chitown.
This year, the Flyers and Bruins will create new memories. Their fans will spend an unforgettable New Year’s Day watching hockey the way it was for so many of us when we were kids.
As was the case last year, we'll be getting updates about the NHL Winter Classic from our good pal Russ Cohen of Sportsology, who will be covering the event as he always does. To get you ready for that, here's a column from him about the historic ballpark hosting the event and the nature of the game itself.
Bowling Preceded Hockey at Fenway Park
By Russ Cohen
The Winter Classic is just around the corner and I can’t wait. I have covered every NHL outdoor game, not counting the Rangers-Kings in Vegas, and this one should be a classic. So as I searched the annals of Fenway Park, I looked to see what other major sporting events they’ve had over the years that didn’t include the Boston Red Sox and I was able to find out that they once had Professional Bowling there. This tale was told to me. I couldn’t find it in print. So I believe the source, since his recollection seemed legitimate.
Back in the days of Don Carter, bowling’s first million-dollar man, he ended up bringing other top bowler’s of his era, in the late 50’s and they had an exhibition in Fenway Park. The lanes were setup outside and the park wasn’t sold out, but there were quite a few attendees. In a weird six-degrees-of-separation connection, Carter was actually signed to a baseball deal, as an infielder, by the Philadelphia Athletics.
The stadium is the oldest baseball MLB stadium that’s currently in use in the states; it first opened in 1912. It cost $650,000 to build the entire baseball palace and now the one hockey game will certainly exceed that price tag since the truck and equipment that the league purchased in 2008 cost more than $1.5 million.
In these games, it doesn’t matter which team has the better record. It doesn’t matter if they are Stanley Cup-bound, what matters is that they have fun. I have never seen one hockey player that didn’t have a ball at this event. They loved every minute of it.
“Maybe we’ll have other chances to do this, maybe not,” Sidney Crosby said back in 2008, hoping that he would get a chance to do this again. “Maybe there will be other teams.”
“I had fun today,” said Wayne Gretzky, back in 2003 at the postgame press conference for the Mega Stars Game during the Heritage Classic. “I think it’s great and what happened this weekend I wouldn’t trade in for the world, it was pretty special. Again, how do you duplicate this weekend? The fans were wonderful and the players were excited.”
For Wayne, this was a real family event. His wife Janet was sitting with her young sons as they got to see their dad play hockey one more time. Wayne had a son with him in the locker room after a practice the day before.
Mark Messier was shoveling the snow off the ice when he got a chance to experience outdoor hockey once again, and he knew it was special.
“As a kid, losers had to do the ice for the next game coming on,” said the Famous Number 11. “I think it’s kind of the way the whole weekend was supposed to be…it’s supposed to be getting back to the grass roots of hockey. What it’s supposed to be, where it s come from and what it should be even at this level.”
Ty Conklin won’t be playing in this one, but he is most known for playing in the previous three. He talked about how cold each of them was and now we’ll see if Boston can have that distinction.
“It wasn’t nearly as cold as the Edmonton game. It got colder as the game went on. It was colder than in Buffalo last year,” he said, talking about Chitown.
This year, the Flyers and Bruins will create new memories. Their fans will spend an unforgettable New Year’s Day watching hockey the way it was for so many of us when we were kids.
Saturday, December 26, 2009
NFL picks Week Sixteen
By Rick Morris
In addition to posting my weekly picks, I will post those from other members of The FDH Lounge Dignitaries' Football Challenge Contest. Each week, we will single out our three strongest plays.
STEVE CIRVELLO (0-3 last week, 22-23 overall)
New Orleans -14 over Tampa Bay
NY Giants -7 1/2 over Carolina
Green Bay -14 over Seattle
DAVE ADAMS (0-3 last week, 22-23 overall)
Cleveland -3 over Oakland
New Orleans -14 over Tampa Bay
Indianapolis -4 over NY Jets
RYAN ISLEY (1-2 last week, 21-24 overall)
Baltimore +3 over Pittsburgh
Indianapolis -4 over NY Jets
Minnesota -7 over Chicago
RICK MORRIS (1-2 last week, 1-0 with my best pick, 20-25 overall, 7-8 on best picks)
Dallas -7 over Washington (my 1,000-Star, Gold-Plated Lock of the Millennium for this week)
NY Giants -7 1/2 over Carolina
Indianapolis -4 over NY Jets
SEAN TRENCH (1-1-1 last week, 17-26-2 overall)
Cincinnati -13 over Kansas City
Green Bay -14 over Seattle
New Orleans -14 over Tampa Bay
My remaining picks (7-7-2 last week, 113-112-3 including win on Thursday night game called on The FDH Lounge Twitter page):
Seattle +14 over Green Bay
Oakland +3 over Cleveland
Kansas City +13 over Cincinnati
Atlanta -8 1/2 over Buffalo
Miami -1 over Houston
Tampa Bay +14 over New Orleans
New England -10 over Jacksonville
Baltimore +3 over Pittsburgh
Philadelphia -7 over Denver
Detroit +14 over San Francisco
Arizona -14 1/2 over St. Louis
Minnesota -7 over Chicago
In addition to posting my weekly picks, I will post those from other members of The FDH Lounge Dignitaries' Football Challenge Contest. Each week, we will single out our three strongest plays.
STEVE CIRVELLO (0-3 last week, 22-23 overall)
New Orleans -14 over Tampa Bay
NY Giants -7 1/2 over Carolina
Green Bay -14 over Seattle
DAVE ADAMS (0-3 last week, 22-23 overall)
Cleveland -3 over Oakland
New Orleans -14 over Tampa Bay
Indianapolis -4 over NY Jets
RYAN ISLEY (1-2 last week, 21-24 overall)
Baltimore +3 over Pittsburgh
Indianapolis -4 over NY Jets
Minnesota -7 over Chicago
RICK MORRIS (1-2 last week, 1-0 with my best pick, 20-25 overall, 7-8 on best picks)
Dallas -7 over Washington (my 1,000-Star, Gold-Plated Lock of the Millennium for this week)
NY Giants -7 1/2 over Carolina
Indianapolis -4 over NY Jets
SEAN TRENCH (1-1-1 last week, 17-26-2 overall)
Cincinnati -13 over Kansas City
Green Bay -14 over Seattle
New Orleans -14 over Tampa Bay
My remaining picks (7-7-2 last week, 113-112-3 including win on Thursday night game called on The FDH Lounge Twitter page):
Seattle +14 over Green Bay
Oakland +3 over Cleveland
Kansas City +13 over Cincinnati
Atlanta -8 1/2 over Buffalo
Miami -1 over Houston
Tampa Bay +14 over New Orleans
New England -10 over Jacksonville
Baltimore +3 over Pittsburgh
Philadelphia -7 over Denver
Detroit +14 over San Francisco
Arizona -14 1/2 over St. Louis
Minnesota -7 over Chicago
NFL Week Sixteen power rankings
By Rick Morris
NOTE: Previous ratings in parentheses.
FIRST TIER: BEST OF THE BEST
1 New Orleans (1)
2 Indianapolis (2)
3 San Diego (4)
SECOND TIER: SOLID PLAYOFF CONTENDERS
4 Minnesota (3)
5 Arizona (5)
6 Philadelphia (6)
THIRD TIER: POTENTIAL PLAYOFF CONTENDERS
7 Cincinnati (7)
8 New England (8)
9 Green Bay (10)
10 NY Giants (11)
11 Denver (9)
12 Dallas (16)
13 Baltimore (13)
THIRD TIER: BARELY ABOVE-AVERAGE TO AVERAGE
14 Tennessee (17)
15 Miami (12)
16 Pittsburgh (19)
17 Houston (18)
18 Jacksonville (15)
19 NY Jets (14)
FOURTH TIER: VERY BAD, BUT NOT THE WORST
20 Atlanta (20)
21 San Francisco (21)
22 Carolina (24)
23 Chicago (25)
24 Seattle (22)
25 Washington (23)
FIFTH TIER: TEAMS WITHOUT ANY REDEEMING VALUE WHATSOEVER
26 Buffalo (26)
27 Oakland (27)
28 Kansas City (28)
29 Tampa Bay (29)
30 Cleveland (31)
31 Detroit (30)
32 St. Louis (32)
BIGGEST RISERS: Dallas (4 spots), Pittsburgh (3 spots)
BIGGEST FALLERS: NY Jets (5 spots), Jacksonville, Miami and Tennessee (3 spots)
NOTE: Previous ratings in parentheses.
FIRST TIER: BEST OF THE BEST
1 New Orleans (1)
2 Indianapolis (2)
3 San Diego (4)
SECOND TIER: SOLID PLAYOFF CONTENDERS
4 Minnesota (3)
5 Arizona (5)
6 Philadelphia (6)
THIRD TIER: POTENTIAL PLAYOFF CONTENDERS
7 Cincinnati (7)
8 New England (8)
9 Green Bay (10)
10 NY Giants (11)
11 Denver (9)
12 Dallas (16)
13 Baltimore (13)
THIRD TIER: BARELY ABOVE-AVERAGE TO AVERAGE
14 Tennessee (17)
15 Miami (12)
16 Pittsburgh (19)
17 Houston (18)
18 Jacksonville (15)
19 NY Jets (14)
FOURTH TIER: VERY BAD, BUT NOT THE WORST
20 Atlanta (20)
21 San Francisco (21)
22 Carolina (24)
23 Chicago (25)
24 Seattle (22)
25 Washington (23)
FIFTH TIER: TEAMS WITHOUT ANY REDEEMING VALUE WHATSOEVER
26 Buffalo (26)
27 Oakland (27)
28 Kansas City (28)
29 Tampa Bay (29)
30 Cleveland (31)
31 Detroit (30)
32 St. Louis (32)
BIGGEST RISERS: Dallas (4 spots), Pittsburgh (3 spots)
BIGGEST FALLERS: NY Jets (5 spots), Jacksonville, Miami and Tennessee (3 spots)
FDH Fantasy Newsletter: Volume II, Issue XLXI
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.
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Merry Christmas
By Rick Morris
The FDH family wishes all the best to you and your family on this most important day on the calendar. To help you celebrate with a smile on your face, enjoy this mashup of a Run-DMC classic and Charlie Brown.
The FDH family wishes all the best to you and your family on this most important day on the calendar. To help you celebrate with a smile on your face, enjoy this mashup of a Run-DMC classic and Charlie Brown.
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