College Football Pick'em Week 1

College Football began yesterday and I am positively pumped. Tomorrow I am headed to the first of eight home games for IU. With the college football season comes another year of College Football Pick'em. There are a total of 12 people in my group. The object is to correctly pick the team that beats the spread in all of the games involving the top 25 teams. So without further ado here are the matchups, spreads, and my picks:

Favorites are listed first, followed by their opponent, then the spread. My picks are in bold.

(7) LSU vs. Appalachian St. - Off
(13) Wisconsin vs. Akron - 26.5
(17) Virginia Tech vs. East Carolina - 9.5
(25) Pittsburgh vs. Bowling Green - 13.0
(2) Ohio St. vs. Youngstown St. - Off
(22) Penn St. vs. Coastal Carolina - Off
(5) Florida vs. Hawaii - 34.5
(1) Georgia vs. Georgia Southern - Off
(3) USC vs. Virginia - 19.5
(8) West Virginia vs. Villanova - Off
(16) BYU vs. Northern Iowa - Off
(19) South Florida vs. Tenn-Martin - Off
(14) Kansas vs. Florida Intl. - 36.0
(10) Auburn vs. LA Monroe - 26.0
(4) Oklahoma vs. Chattanooga - Off
(11) Texas vs. Florida Atlantic - 24.0
(12) Texas Tech vs. Eastern Wash. - Off
(9) Clemson vs. (24) Alabama - 4.5
(6) Missouri vs. (20) Illinois - 9.0
(15) Arizona St. vs. Northern Arizona - Off
(21) Oregon vs. Washington - 13.5

Tiebreakers
1. Illinois 28 vs. Missouri 21
Alabama 24 vs. Clemson 21
2. Who will score the MOST points this week? - Georgia
3. Who will score the LEAST points this week? - Youngstown St.

Soccer Lineup Changes

As I said yesterday, changes were coming to my fantasy soccer lineup. I switched out three players from my team in hopes of moving up the standings. I sold Robert Green (G-West Ham) and purchased Shay Given (G-Newcastle). Green had accumulated negative points for my team after two weeks so there was no way I could keep him. The next move I made was on the defensive front. I sold Danny Collins (D-Sunderland) and bought Johan Djourou (D-Arsenal). This move gave me a defensive line that was 2/3 Arsenal players. My final move was in the midfield. I sold Paul Scholes (M-Manchester United) and purchased Deco (M-Chelsea). Although Scholes had been doing quite well for my team, he had to go because Man U. doesn't play this week. the addition of Deco gives me 3 midfielders from Chelsea out of 4 total midfielders on my team. Hopefully these moves can gain me some points this week and move me up in the standings.

Quick Fantasy Soccer Update

The EPL has been playing for two weeks now, and that is how long I have been doing fantasy soccer. I have not made any changes to my lineup since the last post about my soccer team. This is not necessarily a good thing. Out of the nine people in my group, I am currently in 7th place with 98 points. The 6th place team has 115.5o points and the 8th place team has 84 points. The leader of the group 194 points. I probably need to make some changes to my team and get players who score more points if I want to move up in the standings. This group shows how little I know about English soccer. I like to fill my team with players I know, and those players may not be the best players in the league. Changes are coming to my team this week.

Fantasy Baseball Update

It has been a long time since I updated you on my fantasy baseball team. I haven't made many changes since my last update. I am still in 7th place with 88 points. The 6th place team has 90 points and the 8th place team has 77.5 points. I have been floating around the 90 point mark for a while without much chance of moving up or down. I have made a few changes to my team. About a week ago, I dropped Huston Street (RP-OAK) and added Dan Wheeler (RP-TB). Huston Street had lost his closing job and was no longer of any use to me. Today I dropped Eddie Guardado (RP-MIN) and added Joey Devine (RP-OAK). Guardado had been closing for Texas but was recently traded to Minnesota. I also added Dan Uggla (2B-FLA) off of waivers and dropped Erik Bedard (SP-SEA). Even though Uggla has been struggling recently he will probably pick it up as the Marlins make that final push for the playoffs. He is the key addition to my team that could put me up there at the 90 point mark and keep me above it.

Second Fantasy Football Team

My last post was about my fantasy football team in my main league. This is my second league, which consists mainly of my friends that I went to high school with. Like I stated in the previous post, all three of my leagues have different settings. This league is unlike any league I have done in the past, as it includes drafting individual defensive players rather than team defenses. I am not all to familiar with the average defensive player so this is a new and welcome challenge for me. The settings for this league are seen here:

Post Draft Players:	Follow Waiver Rules
Playoffs:	Week 15 and 16 (4 teams)
Roster Positions:	QB, WR, WR, RB, TE, W/T, W/R, K, D, D, DB, DB, DL, DL, BN, BN, BN, BN, BN, BN, BN, BN
Stat Categories:	Passing Yards (25 yards per point; 2 points at 250 yards; 2 points at 350 yards; 4 points at 450 yards) Passing Touchdowns (5) Interceptions (-2) Rushing Yards (10 yards per point; 2 points at 100 yards; 3 points at 150 yards; 3 points at 200 yards) Rushing Touchdowns (6) Reception Yards (10 yards per point; 2 points at 125 yards; 3 points at 175 yards; 3 points at 225 yards) Reception Touchdowns (6) Return Touchdowns (8) 2-Point Conversions (2) Fumbles (-1) Fumbles Lost (-2) Offensive Fumble Return TD (8) Field Goals 0-19 Yards (3) Field Goals 20-29 Yards (3) Field Goals 30-39 Yards (3) Field Goals 40-49 Yards (4) Field Goals 50+ Yards (5) Field Goals Missed 0-19 Yards (-3) Field Goals Missed 20-29 Yards (-3) Field Goals Missed 30-39 Yards (-3) Point After Attempt Made (1) Tackle Solo (1.5) Tackle Assist (.75) Sack (2) Interception (3) Fumble Force (2) Fumble Recovery (3) Touchdown (6) Block Kick (3)
Fractional Points:	Yes
Negative Points:	Yes

In this draft, I had the number six pick, out of a total of eight managers. I got through most of the draft until my laptop overheated and shut off on me. I did have my queue set and got most of the players I wanted. The few players that were autopicked for me, I replaced this morning. You can see those changes next to the name of the drafted player.

QB Drew Brees - NO
WR Chad Johnson - CIN
WR Roy Williams - DET
RB Steven Jackson - STL
TE Tony Scheffler - DEN (autopicked) -> replaced by L.J. Smith - PHI
W/T Hines Ward - PIT
W/R Frank Gore - SF
BN Brandon Jacobs - NYG
BN Jerricho Cotchery - NYJ
BN Rudi Johnson - CIN
BN Bernard Berrian - MIN
BN Phillip Rivers - SD

K Josh Scobee - JAC (autopicked) -> replaced by Josh Brown - STL

D Brian Urlacher - CHI
D Sammy Knight - NYG
DB Marcus Trufant - SEA
DB Roy Williams - DAL
DL David Thorton - TEN
DL Chad Greenway - MIN
BN Gerald Hayes - ARI
BN Derrick Johnson - KC
BN Antonio Cromartie - SD

First Fantasy Football Team

I haven't blogged in quite some time and I am behind on my topics. First I am going to post about my fantasy football teams. This year I am in three different fantasy football leagues all with different settings. My main league, Hoosier Football, that I have commissioned for the past few years has new settings this year as well. I thought it was time for a little change from the same format year after year. I changed it from the old Yahoo settings to the settings you see here:

Post Draft Players: Follow Waiver Rules
Playoffs: Week 15, 16 and 17 (6 teams)
Roster Positions: QB, QB, WR, WR, WR, RB, RB, TE, W/T, W/R, W/R, K, DEF, DEF, BN, BN, BN, BN, BN, BN
Stat Categories: Completions (.40)
Passing Yards (25 yards per point)
Passing Touchdowns (6)
Interceptions (-3)
Sacks (-1.5)
Rushing Attempts (.2)
Rushing Yards (5 yards per point)
Rushing Touchdowns (6)
Receptions (.60)
Reception Yards (5 yards per point)
Reception Touchdowns (6)
Return Yards (20 yards per point)
Return Touchdowns (6)
2-Point Conversions (2)
Fumbles Lost (-3)
Field Goals 0-19 Yards (3)
Field Goals 20-29 Yards (3)
Field Goals 30-39 Yards (4)
Field Goals 40-49 Yards (5)
Field Goals 50+ Yards (6)
Point After Attempt Made (1)
Sack (1.5)
Interception (3)
Fumble Recovery (3)
Touchdown (6)
Safety (2)
Block Kick (2)
Return Yards (60 yards per point)
Kickoff and Punt Return Touchdowns (6)
Points Allowed 0 points (16)
Points Allowed 1-6 points (12)
Points Allowed 7-13 points (8)
Points Allowed 14-20 points (4)
Points Allowed 21-27 points (0)
Points Allowed 28-34 points (-2)
Points Allowed 35+ points (-4)
Fractional Points: Yes
Negative Points: Yes

These settings make you take into account all aspects of the game and the scoring is not quarterback heavy. I had the 8th pick (out of 10) in my draft and I got the following team:

QB Carson Palmer - CIN
QB Eli Manning - NYG
WR Terrell Owens - DAL
WR Roy Williams - DET
WR Derrick Mason - BAL
RB Marion Barber - DAL
RB Willie Parker - PIT
TE L.J. Smith - PHI
W/T Bernard Berrian - MIN
W/R Rudi Johnson - CIN
W/R Rashard Mendenhall - PIT
BN Isaac Bruce - SF
BN Troy Smith - BAL
BN Drew Bennett - STL
BN Kevin Boss - NYG
BN Muhsin Muhammad - CAR

K Stephen Gostkowski - NE

DEF New England
DEF Baltimore
BN Kansas City

Soccer Lineup Changes

After creating my salary cap soccer team yesterday, I have already made some changes to my lineup. The main reason for the changes is that Wayne Rooney is not going to be ready for the start of the season because he has a virus that he contracted when the team was in Africa. So, I had to sell him and his high salary. This allowed me to purchase a cheaper forward and then upgrade at some of my other positions. To replace Rooney, I got Emmanuel Adebayor of Arsenal for 15.67. Then I traded in my other forward, Darius Vassell (Man City, 6.71) and upgraded to Tuncay (Middlesbrough, 7.46). I left all of my midfielders the same, and I only changed one defender. Jonathan Spector (West Ham, 5.94) is hurt, so I replaced him with Andy O'Brien (Bolton, 7.20). These changes brought my team total to 99.81, leaving me with 0.19 remaining.

Is it Soccer or Football?

It depends on who you ask, I guess. But on Yahoo's UK website they refer to soccer as football. So I am gearing up for Fantasy Football England style. I have joined a Premier League Salary Cap group that my brother set up. I'm not too knowledgeable about the EPL, but I do who the top players are. However, to succeed in these leagues, you can't have all the best guys. You need an intimate knowledge of the teams and players. Hopefully, by playing the EPL salary cap I can learn more about the players and I will watch more soccer games. I do enjoy watching soccer games, but I don't watch as many as I would like to. Now that I am participating in this, I will be watching a lot more soccer games on my weekends. On the Yahoo version you are given $100 and you have to fill out one of the following formations: 3-5-2, 4-4-2, 4-3-3, 3-4-3. For my team I chose a 3-4-3 so that I could maximize on the forwards and midfielders. This is because thos players score the most points in the Yahoo system. My team and each players price is as follows:

G Robert Green - West Ham - 7.89
D Jonathan Spector - West Ham - 5.94
D Kolo Toure - Arsenal - 9.54
D Danny Collins - Sunderland - 5.96
M Paul Scholes - Man Utd. - 5.57
M Joe Cole - Chelsea - 8.39
M Michael Ballack - Chelsea - 10.68
M Luka Modric - Tottenham - 5.55
F Wayne Rooney - Man Utd. - 17.52
F Darius Vassell - Man City - 6.71
F Fernando Torres - Liverpool - 15.90

Total - 99.65 Savings - 0.35

Weekly Update

Over the past week I stood pat and did not make any changes to my team. This has turned out to be a good move. I have steadily been gaining points in the standings and I currently sit in 6th place with 90.5 points. The 5th place team has 95.5 points, and the 7th place team has 84.5 points. Francisco Liriano returned to my lineup yesterday and picked up the win over Cleveland. Now that he is back in the majors, my pitching staff has another solid arm. I also had a big day on Aug. 2nd when my hitters went 10/28 had 5 runs, 3 home runs, and drove in 8. I also picked up two wins on the day and 11 strikeouts from my pitchers. I have been struggling to find a closer while Kerry Wood has been out, but the good news is that he is set to come back during this weekend's series versus St. Louis. I still have Ryan Franklin, but I will drop him and re-pickup Jason Isringhausen, because Izzy has returned to closer's role for the Cardinals. I wish I could avoid this situation, but I just can't seem to.