New Defensive Rankings

Who has is the best defense in the NFL? The team with the least yards allowed? The team with the least points allowed? What about the team with the most turnovers? Sacks? In any article mentioning defensive rankings, the default is yardage, followed by points. Even in 2000, when the Ravens set a record for least points allowed and regarded as one of the best defenses of all time, the Titans were the “#1 defense” that season. Allowing the least amount of points seems like the most logical choice to help your team win. So why the disparity? I couldn’t find the grand conspiracy, so I made my own rankings.

The Steelers and the Chargers are tops in points and yards allowed, but what about the other factors? I ranked the top defenses in points allowed, yards allowed, 3rd down conversion %, penalty yardage, sacks, and turnovers. I even threw in subtracted a point for each TD scored by the defense, the most direct contribution to team victories. Here is the chart showing the combined rankings (click on the picture to actually be able to read it):

San Diego tops the list due in part to being the top 11 in each of the categories. #2 Pittsburgh also is in all top 11, including top’s in turnovers as well, coming in second overall. The #3 Cowboys were #1 in both 3rd down conversion and penalty yardage, but only caused three turnovers in their three games, contributing to their 1-2 start. #3 Titans lead the sacks with two other teams and are in the top 14 in four other categories. Some of the outliers are that #16 Baltimore is #2 in yards and #5 in points, but gave up the most penalty yardage in the league and only have two turnovers. Meanwhile Buffalo has committed the least amount of penalties, but is dead last on this list since they are 27th or worse in the other five categories. If you look at the conditional formatting colors, you can see the correlation between the categories, and the standings on the left. This is only based off a quarter of the season, curious to see what it looks like at the end.

Week 4 Football Recap

Browns 23, Bengals 20 – VICTORY! After blowing fourth quarter leads in each of the previous three games, Cleveland finally held on for the victory. I may be getting a Peyton jersey again, Hillis that is, after the runningback’s consecutive solid performance. Unlike the previous games, there was no killer turnover or penalty leading to the Brown’s demise. While Senaca Wallace’s numbers were down, Cleveland only had one turnover and 44 yards of penalties. While it was encouraging to see Ward’s physical play in crushing Shipley in the endzone, penalty and all, Eric Wright got torched again while TO had a career day on my fantasy benches. It’s really good that Cleveland got off the schnide now, with 3-1 Atlanta, 3-1 Pittsburgh, 3-1 New Orleans, 2-1 New England, and 3-1 NY Jets coming up. Yikes!

Cavs 14, Seminoles 31 – Apparently Florida State isn’t a D-2 school. The Nole’s turned the “white out” T-shirts into flags of surrender. Half the crowd was gone after thirty minutes after UVa’s embarrassing first half performance. Verica was inaccurate, took too many sacks, and threw a pick in the end zone, ending the faint hopes of a comeback in the third quarter. Nine penalties and missed tackles causing long touchdown runs also contributed to the embarrassment. The only thing that went right was that the Cavman video/team entrance was synched together for once. A quick glance at the schedule shows only possibly 3-4 wins out there this season, (UNC, E Mich, @ Duke, MD). Hopefully there’s at least nice weather for tailgates at these games.

Redskins 17, Eagles 12 – The Vick/McNabb drama fizzled fast after the Hokie on Hokie violence injured the Eagles QB’s ribs early in the game. Washington’s last ranked defense stepped up and made Andy Reid look like he was making the right decision starting Vick in over hapless Kolb. The running game looked dominate, McNabb looked sharp at times, and Haynesworth actually showed up. I’m going to petition the NFL to start tracking “holding calls drawn”, since Orakpo would be leading the league. The Skins should have put them away, and definitely should not have come down to another Hail Mary attempt. Now Washington is in a three way tie for first in the division, with idle Dallas in last. While the Burgandy and Gold won’t face another divisional foe until 11/15, the next three games will be brutal, Green Bay, Indy, and Chicago, a combined 8-4.

Colts 28, Jags 31 – I knew the divisional matchup would be tough, despite the recent play of both teams. Jacksonville played a turnover free game after losing two straight while Indy committed two turnovers after coming in off of two losses. But still, a 59 yard game winning field goal? Come on. The Colts still need more balance since they ran for only 58 yards compared to 348 passing. Addai should only receive touchdowns since Peyton only had 350+ yards, two tds and a pick that bounced off his receiver’s hands. Next week, Indy will try to knock off the last undefeated team, Kansas City (really?), which is a role reversal for the annually 10-0 Colts.

Football Week 3 Recap/Week 4 Preview

A combined 2-5 this weekend? Ugh.

Browns 17, Ravens 24 – Cleveland actually showed up against a far more talented team in Baltimore and held a lead in the fourth quarter for the third straight game. Peyton Hillis manned up and ran for the most yards the Ravens have ever allowed to a Brown. I doubt injured Jerome Harrison sniffs the field anytime soon. Senace Wallace was efficient with the ball with a 100+ rating and Cleveland didn’t have a turnover. However, like the other two weeks, the Browns found a way to lose the game. Cornerback Eric Wright had a terrible game covering Anquan Boldin, allowing three TD’s. Why did we bother to draft Joe Haden if we aren’t going to play him? The game clinching play this time was an offsides penalty on a third and short with no timeouts left. Next week the 2-1 Bengals come to town.

Cavaliers 48, VMI 7 – UVa took care of business and routed the Keydets in a sweltering hot day. Even though the win doesn’t count towards bowl eligibility it was still good to iron out the kinks and get healthy. The star of the game was cornerback Chase Minnifield, son of Cleveland Brown cornerback Frank Minnifield, which was one of my starting lineup figures growing up. He had two picks, including an amazing one where he tipped it up and recovered to catch it before going out of bounds. Hopefully he doesn’t return punts anymore, since he muffed one. Senior Ras-I Dowling is the attention grabber, projected first round rd draft pick, but junior Minnifield has been making all the plays this season so far. Strangely enough, over 1,500 VMI cadets showed up for the game in their all white uniforms, while the UVa student section and players were wearing Navy on a sunny 90 degree day. Maybe they were trying to get rid of extra Gatorades at the stadium or something. Saturday 3-1 Florida State comes to C’Ville in a prepared “white-out” promotion. The last time the Seminoles were in Scott Stadium, we were charging the field as they were exiting as the #4 team in defeat. And who doesn’t enjoy watching the ’95 version either?

Redskins 16, Rams 30 – Wow, that was a dud. Washington obviously took St. Louis for granted, stumbling out to a 14-0 hole. After rallying, the vaunted defense failed again, while the offense only scored three points in the second half. Portis is becoming a non-factor and may lose his job after taking a slide like a qb. Nine penalties, two turnovers, and 1-10 on third down isn’t going to get it done against any team, regardless of the record. All the playoff and division talk will be shelved due to the Cowboys’s win and Vick’s resurgence with the Eagles. If next week’s trip to 2-1 Phily wasn’t enough drama already, it was McNabb’s idea to bring Vick to the Eagles in the first place. Hopefully it will be a “sunny” trip to Philadelphia for the Skins.

Colts 27, Broncos 13 – Another week, another 300 yards, three tds, zero picks, and win for Peyton. However, only rushing for 40 yards, while allowing 519, and seeing shots of Freeney going in and out of the locker room are concerning though. The Colts better not overlook the struggling Jags next week in Jacksonville, since Jones-Drew has torn them up in the past and you can never count out a divisional foe.

Due to popular demand, I shortened my fantasy recaps, which is especially timely this week since I got spanked in all three leagues and am now 2-1 across the board.

Football Week 2 Recap/Week 3 Preview

Just like last week, my fantasy teams went 3-0, while my real teams struggled.

Browns 16, Chiefs 14 – Different QB, barely different score, same result. With Seneca Wallace at the helm Cleveland once again took a lead into half only to squander it with penalties and turnovers. Even though Cribbs had a sweet 65 yard td bomb, his talents are still being underutilized on a team devoid of talent. Now after starting 0-2, Cleveland faces a murderous schedule and another high draft pick. Good thing I don’t have season tickets to those games.

Redskins 27, Texans 30 – Much better game from the Skins offense. McNabb looks legit and a great trade for the Skins so far. Portis got two TD’s and the D looked solid until blowing the 17 point lead. Landry is a beast with another11 tackles, three qb hits and a sack. Schaub would have been having nightmares of him blitzing all night if he hadn’t chucked the rock in the comeback like his UVA days. With Dallas faltering at 0-2, and the Eagles and Giants with issues, Washington could be in contention for the division all year and hopefully a playoff spot.

Colts 38, Giants 14 – Indy decided to run the ball for the first time in three years, and by the time the GMen realized they didn’t need eight defensive backs the game was over. Watching Freeney and Mathis coming across the edge after Eli reminded me of playing Madden ’02 back in the day. Big sigh of relief for the season, but now its Schuab vs Peyton for the division.

Merlins 52, Holdbacks 43 – After another solid performance from Manning in addition to two one-yard Portis touchdowns I was able to build up a nice lead going into the Monday night game. Luckily the Saints D held off Drew Brees for a nine point victory. Now I’m in first place all by myself in the division after being in dead last a season ago.

Mountain Goats 45, Lions 42 – Luckily it was an off week for both teams, and I eeked out a three point victory. Not a good sign that my leading scorer was my kicker. Now I’m one of three teams at 2-0 left.

Wahoos 144, Stallions 126 – I scored the most points of any team this week, even though Chris Johnson only scored two points. Meanwhile the Stallions scored the second most points of the week and lost, sucks to be them. The only benefit of Schaub beating the Skins was 29 points for this team.

Week 3:

Browns @ Ravens – Uhhhh….Good Luck

Cavs vs VMI Keydets – The Cavaliers are facing their second D-2 school this season, which means this game does not even count towards bowl eligibility. With any luck the UVa team that soundly beat Richmond shows up, instead of the one that lost to William and Mary last season. It should be a rout on a nice fall day to give backups and injured starters like Dowling some much needed playing time, but you never know. With FSU, GT, and UNC coming up, everything should fine tuned and ready to go.

Redskins @ Rams – Rookie QB making his third start against McNabb and the strong Washington D, the Skins better win. Hopefully its not a repeat of last years 9-7 squeaker.

Colts @ Broncos- A lot more interesting matchup than the other two. Two 1-1 teams. Champ Bailey vs Reggie Wayne. Hopefully week 2 Indy shows up, not week 1.

Merlins vs Harriers – The brother rivalry continues. I face off against Nate for at least the 30^th time, but for one of the earliest times in the season. He’s 0-2 and is a six point underdog. Speaking of brothers, its Eli vs Peyton as well. Cute.

Mountain Goats vs Chopperlicious - Against another team that has Eli. Sure hope Erryn does not find out how much I’ll be rooting against the Giants this weekend.

Wahoos vs Team Turk – 2-0 vs 2-0, I better keep up the team of the week performances to stay undefeated this week.

Football Week 1 Recap/Week 2 Preview

It was a rough start for my real teams, but a perfect beginning to my fantasy teams.

Browns 14, Bucs 17 – New QB, new GM, same results. After a solid preseason, Jake Delhomme threw a critical pick to Ronde Barber (Go Hoos!), pretty much costing the game. Of course Peyton Hillis fumbled as well, so hopefully he’ll stop stealing carries from Harrison. Usually Peyton and Harrison would be a winning combination. If Cleveland can’t beat a low level team like Tampa, it might be another long season.

Cavaliers 14, Trojans 17 – Hmm, same score, different outlook. UVa looked like the better team in California, but a couple costly mistakes and terrible calls from the refs prevented the Wahoos from a big upset. The Cavs outgained Southern Cal, with more first downs and less penalties. I almost went to the game instead of getting season tickets, but after this performance I’m encouraged to see Payne, Dowling, and the others battle the ACC this fall.

Redskins 13, Cowboys 7 – We all know the two plays that comprised the whole outcome of the game, but the rest of the game was actually a snoozefest. The crowd sounded the loudest I’ve ever heard Fedex Field on tv, and the defense looked great, which is encouraging. But McNabb and Portis need to get it going in order to make a playoff push, and watching Haynesworth flop around for about $1 million a play was getting annoying. At least “he” won’t be shown at football games anymore.

Colts 24, Texans 34 – 17^th time’s a charm for Houston? Of course Sanders and A Gonzalez getting hurt once again sucks, but what’s the point of going 10-0 all the time if Indy don’t win when it counts in the playoffs anyway.

Syracuse Merlins 47, Raleigh Recession 41 – Despite only getting 6 points from my three runningbacks I labored over starting, I pulled out a 6 point victory to start the season. Of course Peyton led the scoring, like always, with 20 points, and a TD from Jennings helps. There was a little bit of a scare from Gates on Monday night and I was close to losing if Calvin Johnson’s catch was ruled complete.

Evil Mountain Goats 81, End Zone Sleeperz 50 – Eventhough my top two picks (S Jackson and D Williams) got me 5 points, star of the week Foster’s 27, Giants D’s 15, and Welker’s 14 point return from injury were more than enough.

C’Ville Wahoos 123, Florida Grip 100 – Foster has no trouble making himself at home on this team as well, racking up 41 points, to go along with Chris Johnson’s 26 in a victory over the commissioner of this league.

Week 2:

Browns vs. Chiefs – Jerome Harrison is hoping for a repeat performance of his 286 yard game last year against KC, but the Chiefs looked good in their upset win over San Diego last week (already out of my survivor pool on that one). Jake Delhomme is dinged up, shocking, so Colt McCoy, err, Seneca Wallace might start. If we don’t win this one in our home opener it might be all downhill afterwards with this following schedule (Balt, Cincy, Atl, Pitt w/ Ben, Saints, Pats, Jets,…ugh)

Skins vs Texans – Hopefully Washington can improve on offense, and Landry and the D should contain Foster and a Houston squad overconfident from their huge upset.

Colts vs. Giants – The Manning Bowl on Sunday Night. I expect nothing less than an older brother beatdown and a much needed victory at home. Here are some commercials to get ready for the game, 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5.

Merlins vs Gate City Holdbacks – Unfortunately, all six of my RB’s scored between 3-1 points, so once again I have no idea who to start. Some tongue twisting WR’s on my bench played well last week, Massaquoi and Legedu Naanee, but I’m not starting them until they are consistent. I’m playing a non-divisional foe, who won last week, scoring two less points than me.

Mountain Goats vs East Dillon Lions – Facing off against Beau this week. Commish vs treasurer. If I win, does this mean I don’t have to pay dues? No changes in this lineup either, eventhough putting Floyd in for TO sounds tempting.

Wahoos vs. Thurozville Stallions – In a divisional battle against another 1-0 team already. Sweet

Where is UVa? Don’t worry, they won’t lose….since it’s a bye week.

Football is Back!

The NFL returns this weekend with many intriguing games, but with a full slate of good college football games on Saturday, this weekend is going to be epic. While every weekend in the fall is packed with football, this one feels different since UVA will be playing late on Saturday, allowing me to actually see the other NCAA games, and the Skins play at night freeing up the Sunday NFL schedule.

Saturday

2pm – Miami (OH) vs Eastern Michigan – ESPN3 – Hopefully my only cousin and his RedHawks can recover from their loss at the Swamp last week and beat the Eagles in their home opener.

3:30pm – Miami @ Ohio State – ESPN – This game probably will not be as good as their BCS title matchup eight years ago when the Hurricanes had what seemed like 15 NFL players and the Buckeyes were led Maurice Clarett, who had more arrests than NFL carries.

3:30pm – Michigan @ Notre Dame – NBC – I’m only watching to see how many players can get injured for the year and which team will be absurdly ranked in the top #5 after winning two games. Hopefully the fight songs only come out during field goals in a dreadful 6-3 game.

7pm – Penn State @ Alabama – ESPN – Old Man Joe Paterno and his Nittany Lions travel to defending champ Crimson Tide in a clash of two of the simplest jerseys/color schemes in college football.

10:30pm – UVA @ USC – Fox Sports/Comcast - The Wahoos did not embarrass themselves against a D-II school last week against Richmond unlike the previous two seasons, while the Trojans looked average last week, in a season full of sanctions. The Cavs should “Bring the Payne” (sorry, I had to) against a Southern Cal defense that allowed 588 yards and 31 first downs in their opener versus Hawaii. Hopefully the result will be closer than when Mark Sanchez came to Charlottesville on my 25th birthday two years ago.

Sunday

Since the Skins play at night, we get three NFL games shown locally. (Silly US Open preventing two double headers). Here is a cool map that shows which region gets which games each week.

1pm – Cincinnati @ New England – CBS - TO’s Bengal Debut vs Car Crash-Hippy Hair-Rich Boy Tom Brady

1pm – Carolina @ New York Giants - FOX – The post Delhomme era vs Bloody Faced Eli

4 pm – Green Bay @ Philadelphia - FOX – The post McNabb era Eagles vs 6 receiving TD’s for Greg Jennings

8pm – Dallas @ Washington – NBC – Way too many subplots in this one besides the obvious Cowboys vs Skins. Snyder vs Jones in a Papa Johns commercial, Big Fat Al vs Shanahan, McNabb vs aging, and Miles Austin’s new contract vs belief.

Monday

There are even two Monday Night games this week, doubling the fun.

7pm – Baltimore @ New York Jets – Ray Lewis and his Old Spice Commercial vs. Revis Island and Hard Knock’s Rex Ryan

10pm – San Diego @ Kansas City – Rookie RB superstar Ryan Mathews’s 6 rushing TDs vs. nobody on the Chiefs D

Where does that leave the Browns and Colts? Luckily we just got the Red Zone Channel, so I’ll be seeing all of Harrison’s 6 rushing tds and Peyton’s 6 passing TDs live. Sweet.

Strasburg Adds to the DC and Cleveland Sports Curse

After the latest news that Nat’s rookie phenom Stephen Strasburg tore a ligament in his arm and needs Tommy John surgery, taking him out of next season, I began to think DC sports is cursed, just like Cleveland. Cleveland has the longest title drought of cities with three teams, while DC is the longest with four teams. Well, which is worse?

Both cities main fan base is with football, so we’ll start there. The Browns won multiple titles in the 50’s and 60’s with Jim Brown and Otto Graham but have never been to a Super Bowl. The Redskins have won three Super Bowl titles, but none in the past 18 years. The Browns are infamous for Red Right 88, The Drive, The Fumble, and the move to Baltimore. Washington has Dan Snyder, Norv Turner, Gus Frerotte head butting a wall, and the reattempted fake field goal. Unfortunate Loser: Cleveland

Both cities have an NBA team of similar franchise lengths, with equally tortured pasts. The Cavaliers have never won a title and only appeared in their first final four years ago. The Wizards won a title back in 1978 as the Bullets, but have not made it past the 2nd round since 1982. Cleveland endured the Shot, numerous losses to Jordan in the 90’s, and now the Decision, numerous early playoff exits to the Celtics. DC has suffered through the Jordan/Kwame years and gun totting Gilbert Arenas. Unfortunate Loser: Cleveland

Since the Nationals have only been around five years, I cannot compare them to the Cleveland baseball team, so I’ll take a look at the Capitals’ failures in comparison to the Indians. The Tribe last won a World Series in 1948 and lost two World Series in the 90’s. The Capitals have never won a Stanley Cup in their 36 year history, failing in their only appearance in 1998. Cleveland is infamous for the baseball version of the Catch, the Major League movies, the Blown Save, The Stop Call, and countless players finding success after bolting. Meanwhile the Caps choked in the playoffs to Pittsburgh seemingly every year in the 90’s and 00’s and endured the Jagr blunder. Unfortunate Loser: Cleveland

That leaves us with the fourth and newest sports franchise in DC, the Natinals, err Nationals. After moving from Montreal, the Nationals have not had a winning season in six seasons, including this season, 20 games below .500. Including two 100 loss seasons, they are already on their third manager, second general manager, and couldn’t even sign their first round pick in 2008. The Strasburg injury is not the first costly one to the Nationals either, with Nick Johnson missing a year with a broken leg, and Jordan Zimmermann requiring Tommy John as well. Loser by Default: Washington

Unfortunately for Cleveland, not only do they appear more cursed, but Washington has more hope for the future with Ovechkin, Backstrom, John Wall, Ryan Zimmerman, Bryce Harper, a healthy Strasburg, and Redskins with an improved front office. Meanwhile, Cleveland has the remnants of the Lebron-less Cavs, lowly Indians with only Grady Sizemore, and the Browns whose only good young players are a left tackle and kick returner. Loser for being born in Cleveland and living in DC most my life and rooting for these teams: Me

The Real MVP of Sports: Dr. James Andrews

Before Brett Favre made his third return from retirement this week, he had to consult with a very significant person. No, not his wife Deanna, nor his children, nor his coach Brad Childress, not even his Viking teammates. The 40-year-old indestructible gunslinger needed the blessing of one of the most influential men in sports, 68-year-old orthopedic surgeon of the athlete superstars, Dr. James Andrews.

The renowned doctor started off in Alabama in the early ‘70s and after successfully operating on Roger Clemens’s torn labrum in the early ‘80s, both careers took off. On his way to 40,000 lifetime surgeries, including 2,500 Tommy John operations alone, Dr. Andrews has treated Bo Jackson’s broken hip, Michael Jordan’s shoulder and Peyton Manning’s knee. Similarly to Clemens, in 1991 Troy Aikman’s career began after going under Andrews’s skillful knife. More recently, the Saints should give the surgeon an honorary Super Bowl ring after repairing Drew Brees’s shoulder before he signed with New Orleans.

Even this month, if you search his name under Google news, 1,000 article hits come up noting his procedures. Speaking of Google hits, in a testament to his influence, if you just Google his name, he gets 7.3 million hits, compared to 208k and 390k for the super-agents for his clients, Scott Boras and Tom Condon, as well as only 700k or less for three of the four commissioners of the sports he repairs. So next time your starting quarterback tears his ACL or ace pitcher blows out a shoulder, the following day you better hope to hear the familiar name of the man behind the curtain.

Further reading:

Much longer bio pieces from ESPN and FastCompany.

Slideshows of a team of future MLB Hall of Famers made up of his recovered players and twelve star QB patients.

FFL Decision 2010: Mathews, Best or Spiller?

After winning two Fantasy Football Bowl titles in three years and posting the longest winning streak in South Run Oaks FFL history in the other year, my team nosedived last year, finishing in last place. Peyton Manning was still his solid MVP self, but the rest of my team got old (Terrell Owens, Clinton Portis), injured (Anthony Gonzalez, Felix Jones), or forgot how to catch touchdowns (Greg Jennings, TJ Houshmandzadeh). Therefore, I now have the first pick in the draft coming up and am in desperate need of a young franchise runningback. Since we are in a 12-team, 8-player dynasty league, my options are limited to the rookies and three in particular. Ryan Mathews of San Diego should be the starter on the Chargers in week 1, while Jahvid Best of the Lions and CJ Spiller of the Bills are more talented prospects, but are on less talented teams. It’s a tough decision for a new face of the Syracuse Merlins franchise to return to glory. Therefore, I solicited some advice from some strangers, experts, friends and enemies.

Strangers (random users on ESPN’s FFL message boards):

· “I would go with Best”
· “Stick with Mathews”
· “Mathews....Best and CJ might be injury prone.”
· “Spiller is the best long term prospect, though he'll probably sign a four or five year deal with the Bills and that means he's not a better prospect than Mathews for a long time. You have to take Mathews, he's good enough to be the starter in SD for a long time, and that’s more valuable than being the starter in Buffalo”
· “I still think you gotta like Mathews best, even in that format. Who knows when (or if) the Lions or Bills be good enough for Best or Spiller to be fantasy studs? The Chargers are ready right now. Running back shelf life is so short that I'd really weight the current pretty heavily. Take Mathews.”
· “Best is defiantly a better rookie RB than Mathews spiller and Tate, no questions”
· “Best and Spiller won’t even be the guy. They still have Kevin Smith and Mo Morris, and Fred Jackson and Lynch. Mathews is easily better than any other rookie”

Experts (ESPN’s FFL writers):

· “Ryan Mathews is the clear preseason favorite to lead rookies in fantasy scoring, Mathews looks like an early-down starter right away, with Darren Sproles operating as a third-down back and all-around threat. He was the NCAA's leading rusher last year and is a good player, but his talent is not sublime. And Mathews is a guy coming off a 276-carry season his last year at Fresno State.”
· “Jahvid Best has had elbow, shoulder and hip surgeries, plus his collegiate career ended early after a concussion. But he's impressed his pro coaches so much this spring and summer, it looks like he'll be an every-down player, too, especially with Kevin Smith likely to begin the year on the PUP list. If he stays healthy, this kid could be a big-play threat on the order of Chris Johnson. His health and his offensive line are in question, but his quickness and speed aren't.”
· “C.J. Spiller was my favorite rookie going into the draft, but landing in Buffalo did him no favors. Fred Jackson is a very good player and may lead the team in between-the-tackles carries, and for now Marshawn Lynch is also around. But Spiller has home-run speed, and the Bills will line him up in several spots to get him in mismatches. Plus he's likely one Jackson injury away from a starting gig, albeit behind what might be the worst offensive line in the NFL.”

Friends (Friends who play FFL but are not in my league):

· “Go with Best”
· “I like Best, he is going to play, and Lions offense should get better. Spiller is on a terrible team so who knows what #'s he will put up. Matthews, I just don’t know about him, I am still trying to figure out why everyone is so high on him.”
· “I think the consensus is that Matthews is walking into the starting role where as they may be more competition for the other two.”
· “I think Mathews is your best bet, the Lions always have a crappy o-line. Then again, Spiller could wind up good too. But he plays for the Bills....Given LT's success in SD though, I'd go Mathews”

Enemies (Fellow owners in the SRO League):

· “Barring any big changes in camp, you have a tough choice between Best and Mathews. If the draft was today, Mathews is your man but after camp gets going things might show up - bad hands, bad blocker, so won't see field as much.”
· “I don’t think you can go wrong with Mathews or Best. The Lions aren’t very good but they are getting better and Best is more talented than Mathews. I think Mathews has the best chance for success early but I just think Best is a much more talented player, Spiller as well”

Now all I have is the month of August to decide.

Dog Days of Summer

With only one major sport going on and ESPN bored out of their mind during the lazy dog-dangling days of summer, here are some things to look forward to:

• 4 Days until the Indians trade Shin-Soo Choo, their leader in AVG, HR, RBI, and SB, for a bag of peanuts
• 12 Days until the NFL Hall of Fame Game, opening the preseason
• 37 Days until College Football kicks off
• 38 Days until Strasburg throws a no-hitter against the Pirates, the 10th in the majors this season
• 41 Days until I draft #1 overall in my Fantasy Football League, starting a 10 year dynasty
• 46 Days until UVA plays at USC
• 46 Days until UVA is no longer bowl eligible
• 47 Days until NFL Opening Sunday
• 47 Days until the Browns are out of playoff contention
• 54 Days until Albert Haynesworth goes to one knee faking an injury because he’s winded
• 57 Days until the NHL season begins
• 58 Days until the Caps clinch the Southeast division for the fourth straight year
• 62 Days until Skins fans start calling for McNabb to be benched
• 68 Days until Strasburg strikes out 16 Mets in a 1-0 loss giving the Nat’s 100 losses for the third year in a row
• 68 Days until Peyton Manning throws 6 TDs and 400 yards against the Jags, but my fantasy team still loses since I have no one else
• 75 Days until Albert Haynesworth needs to be carted off because of a knee injury because he’s winded
• 82 Days until Mike Holmgren comes down from the front office to coach the Browns to victory over the Steelers, improving their record to 1-5
• 92 Days until Bosh, Wade and Lebron all simultaneously tear their ACLs coming down off of a fun bunch style high-five during warm-ups of NBA’s opening day
• 93 Days until the Wizards lose their opener despite 20 assists from Wall and Arenas to each other, since they have no one else to pass to
• 111 Days until Albert Haynesworth demands to be traded because the new defensive scheme is too hard for him and is causing him to be winded too often
• 123 Days until UVA tries to end its 6 game losing streak to VT
• 123 Days until Ohio State tries to extend its 6 game winning streak over UMich
• 158 Days until the Winter Classic in which Crosby will complain it’s too cold outside and will force the Caps to play in the new igloo instead of Heinz Field

My World Cup Experiences in Spain

After we planned our trip to Europe back in March, we realized there was a real chance of being in Spain during an historic World Cup run. Luckily that came to fruition after their 1-0 defeat of Paraguay hours before our flight.

Semi Finals vs Germany: Wednesday night, 7/7

After several days of touring in Barcelona, we planned to watch the semi-final game in a big screen plaza setting. However, Barcelonans are fiercely proud of being Catalan and do not rally around the flag as much as we expected. Despite having many players on the national team playing for FC Barcelona, the locals complained it was a different jersey. Therefore, we had to find a random restaurant to watch the game.

After Spain outplayed Germany for most the game, Carlos Puyol finally put one through on an unmarked header during the 73^rd minute. Let the celebrations of tourists on Las Ramblas begin:

Finals vs Netherlands: Sunday night, 7/11

A couple days later in Pamplona, hours after the running with the bulls, we found the main plaza to watch the final.

We arrived an hour early and were treated to a live bear circus show

After the 0-0 first half, a storm rolled through

After a scoreless 2^nd half, a sprint to the bathroom and back, and 26 minutes of overtime…history:

(The goal is 5 seconds in, the final whistle is at 6:30)

After the happy group pic,

The aftermath.

Hours later we were off to the rest of our trip after enjoying a unique view of sporting history.

Spain in the Final and Lebron

I have plenty to discuss regarding LeDecision and Spain in the World Cup Final but I am in no position to discus without kickass video proof yet. (Which I cannot provide until much much later since I´m on borrowed time from the lobby computer in Barcelona with no USB cord.)

The Five Choke Special

After UVA baseball collapsed in the super regional last night, the spring of disappointment is now complete. That’s five #1 ranked teams, zero titles.

As noted in an earlier post, the Caps had their best regular season in team history, but bowed out in the first round. The Cleveland Cavaliers won 60 games again, but were upset by the Celtics in 6 games in the second round, and might have a bigger loss if Lebron leaves.

Meanwhile, UVA’s spring sports joined the choking list. The men’s tennis team continued their trend of going nearly perfect all year only to lose in the NCAA semi-finals, taking their three year record to 102-4 with no titles. A week later, the lacrosse team lost to eventual champ Duke in the final seconds, ended a season where the only losses all year were to the Blue Devils. To end the heartbreak spring playoff runs, UVA baseball hosted their first ever super-regional and were one win away from returning to the College World Series, only to lose back to back games for the first time all year, ending their season and this torturous spring playoff season with a 11-0 embarrassing beatdown.

Well, now its time to turn to the fall. Oh, great.

World Cup Fever

Usually the fanfare of the World Cup is met with yawns here in the US, but after our strong showing in the Confederation’s Cup last year and our matchup in the first game, there is more attention this time around.

On Saturday the United States takes on England in one of the most anticipated games in the history of American Soccer. The Three Lions are the heavy favorites, but we’ve heard that one before, see: 1776. ESPN has been rolling out the commercials for a while, and even the two ambassadors have been eloquently talking trash to each other. Luckily the other two teams in the group are not as tough (Algeria and Slovenia), so we should advance to the knockout round, unlike last time.

This is also the first time I’ve been in an office pool for the World Cup so I have even more invested in it. After a little research, I noticed some interesting trends. Only twice has a team defended their title, and that was almost 50 years ago, so Italy’s out. No Confederations Cup winner has won the World Cup the following year, so Brazil is out, except that they have won every other WC since ’94, which is an easy trend. Only one time in 12 has the Euro winner gone on to win the World Cup two years later, so Spain is out, despite more than half my pool picking them. Only Brazil in ’94 won as the top ranked FIFA team, which is more of a reactionary ranking to the winner’s of the WC, so more reason to doubt the Green and Yellow this year. This hilarious post helps relate American sports teams to the World Cup teams, which helped me pick some of the smaller teams.

Can you name all the teams in this year’s Cup in 5 min? (Only missed 3). How about all the winners? (Was kind of easy since there aren’t many options). And finally all the host countries? (Missed two).

If USA doesn’t pull off the huge upset and wins the whole thing, then hopefully Spain does because I will be here and watching this from a balcony during the final. Viva la Furia Roja!

Hopeful Days for the Nationals

June 7th and 8th are going to be two key dates for the future of the Washington Nationals franchise. Not only is Stephen Strasburg making his major league debut on Tuesday, but the Nats have the first pick in the draft on Monday.

This time a year ago, Strasburg was drafted first overall and eventually signed at the deadline to the highest rookie contract ever. After going 6-2, with 1.30 ERA in his 11 starts in the minors, “Baseball Jesus” is making his long awaited debut on Tuesday, or Strasmas. Once his starting date was announced last week the game was sold out before it had a chance to go on sale. Cities are even trying to change their names to him, and his last minor league start was nationally televised on Versus. With the Nats only a couple games under .500, only 6 games out of first, and have decent run support this year, Strasburg’s 100 mph arm will be needed on a possible wild card push this season.

Meanwhile on Monday, Washington will be making another #1 overall pick, due to back to back 100 loss seasons. The runaway favorite choice for the Nationals is 17 year old power slugging catcher Bryce Harper, who took the GED early in order to play sooner. He has been highly touted since SI dubbed him the Lebron of baseball last year, but comes with some baggage of being an immature teenager. DC already has the polite face of the franchise and a silent hurler, so a cocky slugger might be needed.

Hopefully Harper will be catching the first pitch from Strasburg in a World Series in a couple seasons.