I'm Still Here

Don't worry people; I am still alive. I've just been busy with school, life, and so on. Our college fantasy football season is near the end of the road. Here are the match-ups:

Toilet Bowl: #12 Zach vs. #11 P90X

--Who will win the #1 pick? I mean.. the game. Not that it matters, neither team has drafted an impact guy yet. Wes Lunt could have been the guy but then he kept getting hurt and who knows where he'll show up on the depth chart next year. Rumors are that P90X is too busy for the league and might be leaving next year. Only time will tell.

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#10 Cherns vs. #9 Josh

--Are there 2 guys that could pay any less attention to the league? Cherns has been hit or miss for the last 6 years of his life; you won't know what you get from him until he shows up.... or doesn't. When he does show up, great time.. but those times are about as common as Haley's Comet. Josh wakes up at 4 AM to play video games and completely forgets he has a fantasy football team.

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#8 Crass vs. #7 Brian

--Both of these teams were in $ contention at one time. Not so much anymore. Crass nearly made a postseason deal with the #2 ranked team, but they never agreed to terms. Will it hurt him in the future? Doubtful, but it helped him in his bowl game!

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#6 Joe Dub vs. #5 Billy

--Could one of these guys end up in the money? Highly unlikely. They're one game away. One big bowl game away from $.. a tough spot to be in. A down year for Billy and a big year from Joe Dub. Billy dealt QB Colin Klein to Chad after the bowl games started causing another bowl trade deadline meltdown throughout the league.

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#4 T-Raz vs. #3 Scuba

--Scuba made a late charge while T-Raz couldn't hold on when Geno Smith faltered down the stretch. Who will win this match up for maybe even a shot at #2? Big game tonight needed from Geno Smith and T-Raz could be in $ for 2 years in a row.

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#2 Chad vs. #1 GMOTY

--Venom type match-up. Former neighbors, former friends, battling it out for the top spot. This isn't one of those chump buddy buddy hug each other match-ups that we see so often now in sports.. this is like Barry vs. Bret in the squared circle. Carlos Polk and Ka'Deem Carey nearly equaled each other at the RB slot. Trade almost traded for George Wynn to bench Polk (shoulda pulled the trigger and benched Franklin instead). Perrins with another big game from the Rutgers defense while Chad got next to nothing from J. Franklin and Terrence Williams despite a combined game score in the mid-70s. Could the GMOTY really win the award? We shall see.

Week 11 Rankings

Week 11 is in the books and parity reigns in this league. The top 4 teams all have a shot of playing in the BCS Title Bowl! Heck, even the 5th team could somehow sneak in before all is said in done. When you take a look at the jumbled standings at the top it's also easy to overlook the fact that history could be made! P90XJoe in his 2nd season is going for a goal that has never been accomplished before. This goal started when he came into the league last season but was bit on the backside a few times; he accidentally won games. This year? That has not been the case so far, and when you take a look at that roster.. you can certainly see why. P90X is just 2 games away from having the 1st ever winless season. Yes, folks, the perfect Pollock season is within reach. Rumors persist that the Miami Marlins owner is excited about the possibilities of buying the entire college and seeing who will get less fans at their games; the Marlins or P90X College.

#12: P90XJoe His info reads like a bad team on a video game.. 0-11, 992 points scored (lowest in the league) and 1492 points against (highest in the league). Well, if he didn't have bad luck.. he'd have no luck at all. At least when he goes back home he still tells all the g's on the corner.. "Yo, I'm still P90XJoe from the block."

#11: Zach. 3-8 with 4 straight losses.. a few weeks ago he we telling me that he was legit in the hunt for a top 8 finish. At that point he was 3-4, the wheels fell off. He started asking for too much in return for potential trades and now his roster lost a chance to improve late in the season and well.. he has 3 wins. Epic mismanagement. League observers from the outside continue to question Zach's management style late in the season. They're not sure either one of the new guys has what it takes to be competitive. A lot of his fans are just sitting around looking for more entertainment.

#10: Josh. We've already made fun of his age. Everybody makes fun of his NFL team (The Cowboys). What else is there? He had aspirations to start the season, got off to a bad start.. traded Ball/Franklin when Ball was hurt and getting 8 carries a game. Now? They're both tearing up the league for the #1 ranked team.. it looks like another lost season and another achey breaky heart for Josh. (P.S. Just fast forward to the end of the video and watch those moves. Boy was in the zone.)

#9: Cherns. The Mouth from the South is sitting at 5-6 with Kenjon Barner still on his roster, though he said he was going to be dealt about 4 days ago. So, he hasn't done that. He just got put on a watch list for ignoring rankings this week. Does anybody know if he's okay? Is he studying spreadsheets and stats actually trying to put a real roster together or just pretending that he's too busy to care about the league? In fact, he's so busy he probably doesn't have time to read these rankings.. but if he does, I'll just shoot him a quick email or text that simply says, "Thanks, Jake." Right now? He's just a wannabe.

#8: Crass was one on the door for the title game? Now, he's 5-6 with 3 straight losses. It's been a rough year, he could be on top of the leader board had he gone through with an early season trade for Denard Robinson, but he backed out. That's proved costly, despite Denard being out the last 2 weeks, and now Crass is looking to sell his senior RBs flooding the market alongside Barner and dragging all their value down. Toss in the fact he also just got put on rankings watch and we've got ourselves a disappearing act.. dogs are running all over the place because he's been MIA and now people are wondering.. WHO LET THE DOGS OUT?

#7: Joe-Dub: 6-5 and gaining steam with 2 straight wins. An extremely scary opponent for anybody ranked above him down the stretch. His team can put up monster numbers very quickly with 3 guys averaging right around 20 ppg, so if they hit their averages and he gets outside contributions he can put fear in opponents making them make outrageous comments like, "Man, this roster is banging."

#6 Scuba: A huge loss to the other mouth in the league. Puts him at 6-5 with an outside chance at sneaking into the top 4 for the 2nd time in the last 2 years. Does he have the horses to pull it off? Is his team mentally strong? A lot this week might depend on how long Tajh Boyd plays vs. a pathetic NC State roster and if Todd Gurley gets enough touches vs. Georgia Southern to put up some points. This kid has no fear and no quit.. after his tough loss he was overheard telling a reporter from the Taylor Co. Star News, "My heart will go on."

#5 Brian: 7-4. 4 Straight wins. Just stop. Highest total was naturally 158 vs. #1 team in the league, then he's somehow won the next 3 with scores of 135, 119, and 107. Seriously. Finishing the year vs. T-Raz and GMOTY, so I guess we'll find out if he's for real. With 1 guy averaging in the 20ppg range I can't see him winning out to end the season, but if he does.. I'll approach him after these remarks with arms wide open.

#4 GMOTY The league's most wanted and most hated. No doubt about it. 7-4 with 3 straight wins. More points than Brian, more bravado. More swagger. More emails and texts sent out than the rest of the league combined defending his trades and idiotic comments. Every family has a clown like this, and I guess every league does too. Favorable match ups across the board for his roster this week, and that could put him into the top 3 for sure unless Billy and Chad have an epic battle for the top spot and swings voters to seeing they're the 2 best teams. Regardless of what happens.. GMOTY of the year is coming at you.. as he told the team in his locker room the other day, "That's right boys, we're coming for 'em.. it looks like we've got ourselves a CONVOY!"

#3 Billy: 7-4 and the most points in the league, but he's sitting at 3rd because the top 2 teams tied and have a slightly better record. Little surprised he hasn't made any big roster moves heading into the showdown of the #1 ranked team in the league. He's sitting content; thinking he might lose and then sell quickly for the bowl game. Anytime you have 2 guys on your roster averaging well over 20 ppg you're scary.. and even more scary when those 2 guys are starting as a QB vs. Baylor (historically awful defensively) and WR vs. UCLA (gave up like 400 yards, 5 TDs passing to Washington State last week). He's got more than a shot to win this week. If he does? Bet there will be dancing in his house this weekend!

#2 T-Raz: 7-3-1. Lucky tie is keeping him afloat, but whatever happened to Geno Smith? His QB and best WR (Smith and Austin) match up  vs. Oklahoma this weekend. That's a tough match up most times and James Sims, his top RB, heads to Iowa State. He could have a big game to keep him afloat. He'll square off against that scary Brian squad this weekend, but he's certainly thinking he'll end up with another victory. T.D has a nice little ring to it.. now if he'd just beat dat beat up.

#1 Chad. 7-3-1. More points than Dowden by a lot.. only trails Billy in that department. Big game against the league's leading scorer who has some major friendly match ups for his roster. Montee Ball faces a stout OSU d, and we saw what happened when that OL and Matt Canada squared off vs. Michigan State. Predictable, boring and no ability to even try the run game.. will it happen again? A defense playing Oregon (uh oh), will Terrence Williams be able to find the end zone? Will Franklin find room to run vs. USC? 6 guys average in that 20 ppg range, but they are not looking like great match ups this week.. finally, will Denard be able to play? If he can, and the others play like their season averages.. well.. then Billy.. you can't touch this.

Week 10 Rankings

It's late. I'm tired. Going to be a quick week of rankings with 1 legendary video to end it. My team hasn't seen it yet, but they will before we take the field Saturday.

1. Cloughs-- Get used to it. The reign at the top is just beginning.
2. Scuba-- The Braves? I hope not. Does Cinderella's slipper still fit?
3. T-Raz-- Last year's champ started big but struggled down the stretch. Will Geno crank it up again?
4. Booster-- Still in position for a $ game but not a good one. Might sell off or might buy big.
5. GMOTY-- Doing what he can to be in the title game. He's close, but is it too late?
6. Brian-- Kinda where title game chances end.. he's got a solid record but not elite talent.
7. Joe Dub-- Should I make my obligatory Minnesota or never seen him comment?
8. Crass-- Whoa, what happened to this roster? NVM, he didn't want D. Rob to start the season.
9. Cherns-- He's got one weapon and he's holding him hostage; doesn't have the integrity to trade him to a winner.
10. Josh-- Is this the highest he's ever been ranked?
11. Zach-- Thought he had a chance to get out of the 11th place spot, but it doesn't appear so
12. P90X-- Some picks, some young guys.. but they're not good at being developed. At all.

Who Is Gonna Beat 'Em?

2 games in. One at home, one on the road. 2 wins. One blowout, one buzzer beater. The Bucks haven't lost yet this season. You can't beat them at home; you can't beat them on the road. You can't beat them in blowouts; you can't beat them when it comes down to the wire. FEAR. THE. DEER.

I know it's not 2010. Buuuuuuuttttttttttttttt......

Week 9 rankings are out. The NBA tipped off this week and this is mostly a tribute to some of the better plays/players the league has ever seen. Enjoy.

1. Billy... Shocking rankings this week put Billy at 6-3 on top of the league ahead of 6-2-1 T-Razzie Dazzie. I dunno if it's the entire concept of the league or if people rewarded Billy's win over an inferior opponent while T-Raz tied the #3 team in the league or what it was. Somebody has some explaining to do.. much like Luke Walton after this boneheaded play.

2. T-Raz... Not sure what he did to the league here, but somebody somewhere isn't happy with him. I understand Billy had a higher points week, but T-Raz has a better winning %, could this be the first season in league history where we have a BCS rankings controversy? This could be fuel for Cherns' fire, if he pays attention anymore. Anyway, right when you think the #1 ranking is a slam dunk, somebody like the White Mamba does you like that!

3. Chad... Just when you think he's going to walk into position for the title game, Montee Ball and Denard Robinson get hurt or shackled by their offensive coordinator (Matt Canada in case you didn't know) a 121-121 vs. T-Raz might be good for some teams in the league, but it's not what Chad's looking for on his search for a league title. Sometimes, I know he gets a bad feeling in his stomach at night.. almost like he's got no chance to make it.

4. Scuba... 5-4, 3 straight wins and the 2nd most points in the league. Is this guy going to find his way into the title game? It's a real possibility, but he's on edge this weekend.. his brother-in-law is ranked 5th and they square off. Lets not forget that Scuba's sister married Crass, so Crass pretty much runs Scuba's life when necessary (at least that's how he tells me it works). Regardless, is this the week Scuba pulls a quick one on the elder statesman?

5. Crass... 5-4 and hanging around. He's trying to make things happen, he had a huge shot to move up this week and be in prime position for a run at the top. There was that tie on top of the leader board, it's like a flagrant foul in basketball. 2 free throws, nobody standing around you and the ball. You can't ask for anything better, unless well.. you're Chuck Hayes and this past weekend.. that's exactly who Crass was.

6. GMOTY... Selfish. Self-promoter. Loves himself. All about what he does as coach and not so much about what his team does. Wants the spotlight and wont share it no matter what. He's the kinda guy that if he had a shot to get a cheap rebound for a triple double to get the stats.. he'd miss that shot on his own basket. 5-4 and in that group that could maybe have a chance to make it to the $ games. Can you imagine this guy in a championship? Scary, scary thought.

7. Josh... Hanging around yet.. 5-4, just won again. Another one of those wins because the other team was so bad that somebody had to win. He just got lucky. Almost as lucky as his favorite player in the history of basketball. Josh used to celebrate this guy around the house, it was sick. We'd go play in the backyard and he'd be him. We'd play on our Nerf hoop in the bedroom, and he'd imitate him. We'd be doing the dishes, and he'd shoot a turnaround J into the garbage can like this guy on the big stage.

8. Brian... 5-4, 2 straight wins. Does he have a shot at getting up far enough for a $ bowl? I doubt it. He's from Minnesota. He's been trading away pieces left and right. There's not much left in the cupboard, lets chalk those wins up to attrition more than anything. There is a little spark there, like I said.. 2 straight wins, 5-4 with a host of other guys all the way up to the #4 ranking. You think he's going to make a play, but then you remember who he is.

9. Joe Dub... 4-5. He lost again. He's still above Cherns. I've still never met the guy. Never gotten more than an email/text on occasion from him. Still unsure he really exists. Still think it's possible, he's part of Brian's schizo that he's got going on. Either way, if he really does exists he drafts like Marc Gasol passes.

10. Cherns... 4-5. Running out of mean things to say. In and out of the league. In and out of his consciousness. Wanted to trade Kenjon but then he didn't really. Wanted to be a farmer, but then he lives in Madison. Wanted to play middle linebacker for a winner like Edgar, but he was born in Auburndale. I watched him play shedball one time with Tony Balz. One of the worst 2 on 2 bball teams you'll ever see. If you took the White Mamba and The Custodian and tossed these two against them.. they'd make Mamba and the Custodian look like Bird/Magic or LeBron/KD for you youngsters. He doesn't win often, but when he does.. he celebrates with Chris Bosh.

11. Zach... 3-6 with 2 straight losses.. Just a few weeks ago he texted me something to the effect of he was 3-4 and on the move, outside shot at a money bowl game. I'm not joking. Now he's 11th in the league. Sometimes, you just need to pull these young league members aside and say, "Whoa, bro.. where you going so fast? Don't forget to do the little things first."

12. P90XJoe.. Joe has a rough time scoring. Joe thinks Matt Canada is a good OC. I doubt this is a coincidence. Sometimes, I feel like Joe just really needs Rasheed Wallace to suit up for the other team and maybe, just maybe he'll find a way to the winner's circle.

Week 7 Rankings

1. Billy (11)-- 5-2, still with the most overall points.. but is 1-2 in his last year and with a tough match-up vs. T-Raz this week. Is the ship sinking? His first 3 weeks were massive outputs 158+ but he hasn't approached it since. Sometimes I think he just wants to take his ball and go home.

2. Chad (1)-- 5-2, 2-2 in his last 4 games. Has hit 150, 126, and 168 in his last 3 and Denard and company seem to have the offense figured out. Commish takes heat every week for these rankings and rulings. With his team winning, he's ruling a little bit stronger than the past, he has confidence and... authoritay.

3. T-Raz-- 5-2, 3-1 in his last 4. 140, 186, 161 and 95 are his point totals in those 4. Key: Gino Smith, T-Raz has some great pieces around him, including that all of a sudden nearly dominant Oregon D that Chad dropped earlier this year. That doesn't change anything, he might try to disguise himself as a complete squad but we know that's a joke.  As Gino goes.. he goes.

4. Perrins-- The GMOTY is 4-3, but 3-1 in his last 4. Those 4 games? 114, 107, 168, and 166. He thinks the 168 and 166 are par the course for his expectations. We think that's a small sample size, time will tell as he dodged a bullet already this week with Joe Dub having the Oregon QB's 33 pt performance on the pine. Still shady trade stuff can't get out of people's minds but I don't think he cares.

5. Crass-- 4-3, 2-2 in his last 4. 97, 152, 126 and 104 in his last 4 games. Picked up another Chad drop in Tyler Wilson as he really needs some help at QB. Big game against a suddenly hot Zach squad this weekend. He was in his locker room talking to QBs after practice this week.. he calls them, "mom." No joke.

6. Josh-- 4-3, 3 straight wins posting 130, 70, and 103 in those wins. No joke. Traded his 2 best players and then rattled off win after win, albeit vs. weak competition. Can he get past a lower ranked Cherns who has more explosive players? Kenjon dropped 34 last night, so it's an uphill battle. I've been getting texts about the trade he made and how people can't believe his team can win suddenly. They don't get it.. I don't think he does either. Still working on adding things up.

7. Scuba-- 3-4, 3-1 in his last 4. 167, 154, 101, and 152 are his last 4 totals. Ya, this guy is dangerous with a 3-4 record but the capability to blast anybody on any given Saturday. Looking to keep P90XJoe win less, shouldn't be too tough. Has a ton of points, obviously, but still struggling in wins. Rumors persist he thinks the league isn't "fair" because of the way his team is buried in losses despite all the talent.

8. Joe Dub-- 3-4, 2-2 in his last 4. An unreal 183, then 97 and 89 before 141 last week in his rivalry game with a guy he has never met. Who knows what you'll get when you take on this squad, he's a roller coaster right now, must be what it feels like to be on the debate circuit. He's just trying to get his team to get that 183 spot every week.. and he'll do what it takes.

9. Cherns-- 3-4, 1-3 in his last 4. I think that was about the time he claimed a butterfly in China could flap its wings and he'll win the league title. Around that outlandish claim time, he's gone for.. 94, 148, 77 and 88. We're talking Brian/P90X territory. This is all most owners hear when Cherns gets on his intelectually superior high horse. "When a butterly flaps it's wings in China, I'll win the league. It happens that fast."

10. Zach-- 3-4. 2 straight wins! They were against Cherns and P90X so take it for what it's worth but he did hit 95 and a season high 131 last week. Is this team suddenly buying into the coach's philosophy? A league coach quoted, "Last year nearly every player contacted me about a transfer, this year it was only 4 or 5 guys that were looking to get out. Either they're buying into his program, or they found some boosters to buy their loyalty." Possibly, he did this in the locker room.

11. Brian-- 3-4, but it feels like 0-7. At one point he scored 141 points, since then he hasn't topped 112. In fact, he hasn't topped 74 in the last two weeks including a potentially all time low 48 last week. To put that into perspective, Aaron Rodgers nearly threw for as many points vs. the Texans on Sunday night and several weeks ago, Gino Smith woulda nearly doubled his entire team total. Was still in a stupor coming into the week commenting, "How can I reach these kids?"

12. P90XJoe-- 0-7. Feels like 0-100. Came within 4 points of a win once this season, toppled the 100 point mark last week by 15 but still came up short. Only 5 weeks to go to set the unbeatable, only tieable record of going win less the entire season. The perfect Pollock season is in sight, but lets not talk about it too much or we might jinx it! Perhaps, it's time for Joe to get back in the kitchen.

Week 6 Rankings

Another week in the books, another week of Billy standing on Mt. Olympus and laughing at the pitiful humans below him.

12. P90X Joe-- After being called out by the resident league bully, Booster Billy, (that's alliteration) P90X Joe went on a tirade never seen before in these fantasy circles. Some say his motivation and intensity might have enabled Uncle Rico to throw a football over them mountains or put Neil Armstrong on the moon, but the old timers.. the guys that have been around before, they saw through the words and saw the real message.. IT WASNT OVER WHEN THE GERMANS BOMBED PEARL HARBOR. Look out Billy.. P90X is 0-6 right now and had a league low 66 points last week. So, lets hope the workout isnt the only thing changing.

11. Zach-- Ripped off another win, locking up former fellow Marawood star, Cherns, 95-77 and displaying that typical Edgar tenacity. QBs can score at will, Ontario Smith might let loose in the Georgia Tech backfield, still searching at WR, but still has the Va Tech defense even though they aren't the d of years past. As Zach walked off the field victorious, he might have forgot how it felt... "Now, what am I doing?" he probably wondered as he sat in his office Sunday getting ready for this week.

10. Joe Dub-- 2-4 with 89 points last week? 3 RBs combined for 17 points, Kicker managed a 1 spot but the defense canceled that out with a -1. Ouch. If I'm Andre Ellington and I'm sitting there on this roster, I might go up to ol' Coach Joe-Dub and ask him, "Are you gonna pull those pistols or whistle dixie?" Needs to really make a move to get things going.

9. Scuba-- 759 points. 4th most in the league! Sure looks good. "Ya, but I shoot with this hand." 2-4 record. Not so much. Scored 101 last week, has young talent, a stud senior QB for points.. but can't seem to get the right match-up weekly. A lost season for the record, but solid for his team's development. He's like David Copperfield right now, I'm going to score points and entertain you, but in the end it was just a show and not real.

8. Brian-- 3-3 and coming off a beatdown. 73 points? A whopping 23 points on the bench? You want the truth, Brian? Do you?  You can't handle the truth, but I'm going to tell you anyway. Last year was a fluke! Not sure I've seen a fall this far, this fast from near title contention. On the plus side, this team is young with some players that get the ball a lot but need to do more with it.

7. Josh-- 3-3. 2 straight "wins." Thinks his team is on a roll now, last week he won by 4 points. And scored 70 points. That tells you how bad the #12 team in this league is. Well, Josh.. Fat, drunk and stupid is no way to play fantasy football, son. You're going to need something a little bit better this week against the #2 ranked squad in the league.

6. Cherns-- 3-3. 77 points in the starting line-up last week. 96 on the bench. Lost to the #11th ranked team in the league. Still yapping when he has a chance. Still proclaiming that he can win the league at any moment.... "WELL... we're waiting."

5. Perrins-- 3-3. Scored the most points in the league last week and downed the #4 squad by about a 40 spot. Then, naturally, claimed his squad was putting it all together. It was the best week of the year because your guys played out of their minds. It's the law of averages, bro, this week won't be a repeat.. but it is a big game as he's taking on #1 and their is high tension between the 2 squads as Perrins philosophy with the worst team in the league is to say, "I'm gonna make an offer he can't refuse." as he attempts to give up a 3rd round pick for a top 5 RB.

4. Cloughs-- 4-2. Coming off a loss to Pesky Perrins and now taking on the #3 squad in fantasy. No TE rostered as several trades appear to have fallen through and half the roster on a bye week? No worries. He's got a QB that can't really throw and a white WR in the starting line-up. Crass, I've only got one thing to say to you... "CAN YOU DIG IT?"

3. Crass-- 4-2 and scored 126 last week despite 2 players scoring 0 in the starting line-up. RBs continue to carry this squad as Jeff Tuel appears to be in line to make a start at the QB position. Tuel is Wazzu's QB, which could be good because it's Mike Leach.. but Tuel hasn't started in a few weeks and was mediocre replacing their other hack QB last week at Oregon State. If he doesn't start this week, that could be a huge loss of points. Guess he shoulda maybe checked FA for a QB this week but probably just took the Godfather's advice to Spend time with the family.

2. T-Raz-- 5-1 and clearly hanging out with the Blues Brothers. We're on a mission from God. Stole Geno Smith from Perrins. Picked up FA Oregon D after Cloughs dropped them and since then they've scored 42, 19, and 22 points. Some Texas RB that averages like 2.5 yards a carry has had like 20+ point weeks back to back. The Geno show heads in vs. the #7 squad, Josh, this week. Expect the Ws to follow.

1. Booster-- Raged over a trade attempt with P90X Joe where he offered multiple picks and a player, to get no response.. only to have said player traded to Perrins (in process at least) for a 3rd round pick. Shoddy by Perrins and Joe, Booster took a stand against the injustice. Perrins/P90X Joe put their little brains together to come up with the standard, "Billy annoyed me and I can trade with whoever I want" text later that night. Good one guys. Didn't take many higher level thinking courses at UW, eh? Booster is incensed because he's taking on #5 Perrins this week, who is quickly becoming a thorn in his side. Braxton Miller gets a horrible Indiana Defense but Marcus Lattimore gets one of the nation's best in LSU. Will that be enough to overcome Johnny Manziel vs. La Tech and maybe Mike "O" G on the Perrins squad? Billy only has one question for Perrins..  Do you feel lucky?

Week 5 Rankings

Apparently several of the league members aren't the brightest bulbs there are (insert any other cliche here), because they think I make the rankings up and then call me out for where they're ranked in emails. That's simply not true, my job is to tally the rankings and then find comments that fit where they're ranked. Don't hate the messenger.. it might take another season for four for guys like Perrins to understand this.. he did after all, trade GINO SMITH FOR CODY HOFFMAN and then claimed Hoffman as an All-American candidate. Yeah, he's scoring 8 ppg in our league. Sweet.

12. Big Joe--0-5. Changing his name in order of a revival of sorts.. tough to revive somebody that's never lived but there needs to be a change of pace here. Wondering how long he'll be the league doormat or if we need to change the doormat's name to.. Big Joe. "You're the Big Joe of the league" might be a new saying. Stay hot, Big Joe.

11. Zach-- 1-4. Struggling and putting guys on the block. Lunt's down with an injury, will he get his job back? Eddy Lacy losing carries in a loaded Alabama backfield. Things aren't looking good for him right now, but it's not because he's not trying. Needs some solid FA pickups and a big draft. Who knows.. maybe he's playing the wrong football?

10. Perrins-- 2-3. GM of the year still working 8 PPG Cody Hoffman into his star studded line-up. Just for reference, last week Geno Smith had over 70 points.. at 8 PPG it'll take Hoffman another 4 weeks to get there and we've played 5 weeks already. Naturally, this doesn't stop Perrins from talking trash, he reminds you of the little rat down the street that just doesn't learn and really needs somebody to shut him up. Perrins is the fake Don King, I'm Rocky Balboa.

9. Joe Dub-- 2-3. Forgot a league member in voting, I released information that he's from Cudahy.. thinks aren't looking good for him right now. Last week he signed a TE to play RB and the league got cranky despite them voting down any rule that said differently, thankfully they haven't closely examined his Dexter McCluster clone on the roster.. thankfully he's 9th so it doesn't really matter right now. Lets just hope he wakes up and doesn't turn into a zombie.

8. Josh-- 2-3. Remodeling his house yet has taken time from him being on top of the league.. remember the last time he was near the top he had a 1 man band? Graham Harrell. Ha, that clown can't even hand the ball off right now. Hilarious. Lots of bye weeks and lots of youth on this roster now, might be an ugly end to the season.

7. Scuba-- 2-3. Some have him much higher, but a league member (Joe Dub) forgot to vote for him. Sure it was accidental, but is this the type of action that creates some fireworks in the league. Does Joe Dub want Scuba's nickname? Or maybe some of the young talent he's harboring on that roster? Joe hasn't come out to defend himself, but Scuba won't take this lightly.

6. Brian-- 3-2. Might be quitting on the season, put Justin Hunter on the block and looks like he might try to reload for the future. Can't say I blame him, the youth is bleak and he knows what it takes to get back on top of the league after his good finish last year. More than you can say for his favorite NFL team, the Vikings. Perhaps, he shouldn't quit.. but sit down and watch this.

5. Cherns-- 3-2. The mouth from the south was MIA this week, as he is most weeks. It's what he does. It's who he is. Too busy for life. Going to burn himself out with this work thing, needs to realize he alone can't carry America on his back. He needs to realize he has some serious talent on his squad and get them to produce week in and week out. A lot of gaudy averages and projections, youth and experience.. he might be priming himself up for a run.

4. Crass-- 3-2. Also hanging around the top of the leader board primed to make a run. Not a lot of depth on the squad but Steadman Bailey might go bananas at anytime like he did last week. Epic week. The rest of the team does just enough to get him wins, but I'd be surprised if he finished in a money bowl game. I'd say he's an optical illusion.

3. Chad-- 4-1. Somehow defeated Bill, is 4-1 and only 3rd in the rankings? Only 1 first place vote? This league has some haters, but that's what haters do.. haters hate. Denard Robinson, Montee Ball, Jonathan Franklin, Terrence Williams all lead this squad as seniors so it might be awhile before he's back on the top of the league. He has to reap the benefits as soon as possible so he brought in some motivation to take on Perrins this week, who is actually projected to win and talking smack all week.

2. T-Raz-- 4-1. Will T-Raz win and really give some of his winnings to Perrins because of the Geno Smith for Cody Hoffman deal? There are rumors circulating there was a secret handshake for this trade, but it'll be tough to prove without being able to review cell phone records and secretly KGB recorded conversations. League officials are reviewing the trade and all these records, no stone will be left unturned to see if this was a cheating violation. Week 9 might be the best time to knock him off again with Austin and Smith on a bye week.

1. Billy-- 4-1. Beatdown on national TV, game of the week.. ABC/ESPN had Herbstreit in the house with Musberger and nothing changed in the rankings. He's got a real voodoo spell on the league to keep him on top right now, is this deck of cards crumbling? Braxton looked human and the RBs weren't electric as usual. Got a big night from Marquis Lee last night, so he's still throwing haymakers and not going to let go of the #1 spot easily.

Week 3 League Rankings

With Week 3 now in the books in our incredible College Fantasy Football league I thought maybe it was time to post our league rankings. There are some obvious surprises, some people to point and laugh at, and some things that never just change.

12. Fat Joe (0-3 with 306 total points. Ray Graham was suspended 4 games since Joe didn't add a HS Recruit therefore committing a roster violation. EJ Manuel and Mike Gillisee are solid along with the Alabama D but you're not winning with 3 solids and a bunch of role players. This isn't the MAC.)

11. Scuba (0-3 with 318 points. Couple of tough luck losses as Scuba has some pieces with UCLA QB Brett Hundley and RBS Todd Gurley and Duke Johnson. Chad better be on upset alert this weekend as Scuba's squad can put up some big points)

10. Zach (1-2 with 264 points. Coulda had a week 1 win but Orwin Smith got hurt, just added Arizona QB Matt Scott, but little production on the bench and from Eddy Lacy make this a 3 win maximum squad. I think he watches this before he drafts)

9. Joe Dub (1-2 with 283 points. 7 spots in his line-up average 10+ points but nobody has breakout potential which limits his wins but makes him a tough game weekly. We dont often hear from Joe Dub.. is this why?)

8. Perrins (1-2 with 331 points. Self-proclaimed "GM of the Year" didn't even know the FA rules for running out of bidding points. Oops. Traded Geno Smith for Cody Hoffman who was then triumpeted as an All-American candidate. Decided to keep Matt Barkley even though Geno will score more points over the course of the season. Traded for Le'Veon Bell who looks human entering the Big 10 season. All smoke and mirrors here)

7. Josh (1-2 with 394 points. Actually has the 2nd most points in the league behind the #1 team but only 1 win to show for it. Maybe that's the reason he's going on some detox diet.. to try to clear things up and get rid of the excess chunks that help a probable win become a loss. No clue how he's going to focus this week after learning about atoms, neutrons, protons and electrons and needing to study up for his English lesson next week. Apparently also didn't feel the need to roster a K this week, Lawler's reaction.)

6. T-Raz (2-1 with 294 points. Just stole Geno Smith from his Spirt Squad parter, Perrins in which some league members were calling secretly via email from a revoking of the trade pointing out, probably correctly, that it reaks of collusion. He's actually the one that is campaigning for Cody Hoffman as an All-American, which, of course, makes you wonder if he understands football despite last year's league title.)

5. Brian (2-1 with 322 points. Solid pieces on the bench. Aaron Murray at QB, McCombs and Jamison at RB and Justin Hunter at WR. These guys don't really strike fear into your heart but Jamison had about 829 carries last game, Hunter is rounding back into form and Murray could have a 300+ yard 4 TD game at any time. The team fits his personnel as Coach Brian never gets too up or too down)

4. Cherns (2-1 with 374 points. Since coming to the league and guaranteeing victory every year some thought this would be the first year he just let his play do the talking (while not even near championship caliber) and it had gone that way through 3 weeks.. suddnely, a conversation about the little things in life (like his stature) got his brain moving and emails spewing out. Somehow he babbled something about a butterfly flapping wings in China and that'd propel him to a league title. Not sure if he got it out of a fortune cookie or if he just didn't sleep last night because he was up working so hard; rumors persist the rest of the league wishes he'd take Vince McMahon's advice)

3. Crass (2-1 with 385 points. Carried by his RBs Stepfan Taylor and Joseph Randle he is again near the top of the league. Randle and Taylor have byes this week so this is a huge week for his WRs and maligned QB BJ Daniels and he might need to do something crazy, invent a new way to win perhaps? In an effort to carry his team to victory without Taylor and Randle, Crass made an interesting move purchasing a home in Medford, WI where the power of the Red Raiders might will him to victory)

2. Chad (3-0 with 354 points. Not the most points but tied for the most wins. Ball control with the 3-4 DT Zone blitz and the Hop Splash are causing havoc and have been Chad's style since Madden 2004 and nothing appears to have changed. QB Denard Robinson, who was trade bait earlier in the season but nobody wanted him, has rebounded to lead the squad averaging over 34 PPG so far. Kenny Hilliard, DeAndre Hopkins and Terrence Williams have helped and recently acquired Shawne Alston, Miss State D and Allen Robinson only add to the weapons.)

1. Billy (3-0 with 501 points. Booster Billy is back and without mercy and some call his roster "THE MOST ILLEGAL THING I HAVE SEEN IN THE HISTORY OF SPORTS". Roster currently has 5 spots averaging over 20 PPG including Braxton Miller at 41! De'Anthony Thomas was nearly traded before the season started, but I am guessing Booster is glad he didn't make the move. Even while being stuck at the office for 60 hours a week, working the QBs up in Sturegon Bay to putting up Cam Newton like numbers, Billy still finds time to dominate the league. This reign may have no end.)

My All-Time Bo Ryan Team

Mike Lucas wrote a little story about his all time Bo Ryan team which can be found here: http://www.uwbadgers.com/blog/2012/08/bo-ryan-era-dream-team.html. The roster, of course, isn't the best players only.. but the best team that you can put forward. Naturally, you need role players, shooters, defenders and so on. How would you fill out your roster?

Guard: Devin Harris. Easy choice. Runs the point, plays off the ball, good size/length, very good defender and great at jumping the passing lanes to help get easy baskets.

Guard: Kirk Penney. Efficient. Not very athletic, will have trouble defending some of the bigger players and better athletes but he can use his body very well and is extremely hard to guard in the college game.

Forward: Mike Wilkinson. Not as athletic as the 2 guys he's sandwiched between here but you won't find a more efficient player at the 6'8 post position. He can be a solid on-ball defender, tenacious rebounder, and he can shoot the ball very well; he's another great player.

Forward: Alando Tucker. Another easy choice, another collegiate stud and the best part on an all-time team he could do what he does best.. play around the paint. He doesn't have to worry about playing around the 3-pt line, he can slash and rebound which he was excellent at.

Center: Brian Butch. When he came to Wisconsin he was the 2nd biggest Badgers recruit I know of after Sam Okey. He was underrated as a Badgers center and when he freakishly injured his elbow against Ohio State it was the downfall of the #1 Badgers team. Rebound, shoot 3s, and alter shots, do it Polar Bear.

1st Bench Guard: Michael Flowers. Lockdown defender and really improved offensively at Wisconsin, can shoot the ball, play off the ball or run the offense. I obviously really like him for the defense as he'd help shift match-ups with Penney/Wilkinson/Butch sliding over spots and to the bench.

1st Big: Jon Leuer. Big time offense, but I always thought he should have been a better rebounder/defender. He was solid at weakside D by senior year.

Subs: Marcus Landry. Solid size can play big and can play a little bit of the wing. Marcus really turned into a solid outside shooter, efficient rebounder and could even score a bit on the block. Underrated athletic ability.

Trevon Hughes: Excellent athlete, big time player. One of the few Badgers that wasn't afraid to make plays and could get to the rack more than other guards in the Ryan era.

Jared Berggren: Little bit of a ahead of time pick becuase I think he's set for a HUGE senior year. He's a solid player that can score from all areas of the floor. He's a VERY good defender and a solid rebounder.. I honestly think by the time the 2012-2013 season is over he could be on this starting squad.

There were my toughest picks to fill out the last 2 spots and I went with..

Jordan Taylor: I don't think I really need to explain why, do I? We've all watched recent Badgers basketball and know what he can do. If he doesn't need to put an entire team on his back then he can really defend as well as run the offense.

Clayton Hanson: Surprised? I can only think about the Elite 8 run the Badgers made and how he dogged guys defensively and hit huge 3 after huge 3. An elite marksmen and, at worst, a great 12th man practice player.

Notable guys that didn't make it:
Joe Krabbenhoft: Filled the gritty role with a better shooter in Hanson but I do lose size.
Greg Steimsma: Going off what they did in college and sadly for the Badgers it was mostly foul trouble.
Keaton Nankivil: Spot taken by Berggren and the fact you don't need multiple bigs anymore.
Sam Dekker: He'll be on it soon.. I hope
Zach Morley: Not in a Badgers uniform long enough
Shariff Chambliss: Same

Guest Blog on Ersan Illyasova

As I listened to Steve “The Homer” True analyze why the Bucks are doomed as a franchise by spending 45 million dollars on Ersan Ilyasova it really provoked me to analyze his claims on “How to Build an NBA Champion.”

The reality is that the Milwaukee Bucks invested 45 million dollars on a player that has played professionally since he was 15 years old. A player that now at 25 not only is entering his prime years but whose productivity matches that claim. Last season, Ilyasova averaged 13 points and 8.8 rebounds per game as he took the NBA by notice. Now, “fans” fear that like Michael Redd and Tim Thomas before, Ersan is a one-hit wonder. The reality to those claims is simple; the cost of the risk (9 million per year) is well worth the reward. Ilyasova has not only seen his minutes increase but also his production over the past four seasons. At the end of the day the Milwaukee Bucks have a Coach and GM with one year left on their contract, an owner that demands they make the playoffs all while trying to raise funds and interest to build a new arena. Ilyasova, therefore, was a must sign. Why?

It is simple; Monta Ellis and Brandon Jennings are the fuel that runs the engine of the Bucks dreams for 2012-2013 and for them to be successful, their strengths need to be extenuated and their weaknesses need to be protected. How does Ilyasova help them do this? Well offensively, Ilyasova is a “stretch four,” he is a player that is a face up jump shooter than can stretch the floor for the Bucks’. Jennings and Ellis are explosive NBA scorers, but they are also players that demand the ball for the majority of the shot clock. For the Bucks to be successful, Ellis and Jennings need to be surrounded by shooters, like Ilyasova. Now, the Bucks have filled their hole at Center with Dalembert and Udoh and now need their front court counterpart to be a productive offensive player. Gooden and Ilyasova fit that need for Milwaukee. Fans can expect a lot of lineups late in games that feature these shooters around Ellis and Jennings to maximize their one on ones.

"But, they drafted John Henson and have Gooden and Udoh and Sanders, why do they need Ilyasova?"

"They should amnesty Gooden!"

The above quotes are things you will hear (maybe even from this blogsite owner) and should but put in perspective. The NBA is an 8-9 man rotational league. With a lineup of Jennings, Ellis, Mbah a Moute, Ilyasova and Dalembert, there is only room for three to four players off the bench. Obviously, Gooden and Dunleavy give the Bucks veterans that can score the ball of the bench and either Udoh or Sanders will give them an option at the Center position behind Sam. So, that leaves the Guard which is Udrih at the moment. Guys like Henson and Lamb don’t need to play RIGHT NOW. It’s OK; the Bucks have a team with depth.

In all reality fans, the Bucks are not the Heat, BUT they are in better position now to be competitive, exciting to watch and ultimately make the playoffs. By the way, they did it without sacrificing depth and overpaying for bad contracts like many NBA teams are currently doing and the Bucks have been culprits of in the past. 

Adrian Peterson Arrested

I know this is semi-old news now, but here is the thing.. why are people surprised that it took 3 officers to bring him down? Are we supposed to be shocked by this?

1. They are in Houston and the officer allegedly "jumped on his back." We all know that Texans have trouble tackling AND jumping on a guy's back is the worst way to bring him down. You have to attack his ankles or hit him in the waist if you're coming in from behind. Bad form.

2. And most importantly, have you ever seen anybody try to tackle AD? One guy isn't going to get the job done.. defenses know they need to gang-tackle this horse. I'm a little surprised it only took 3 Houston PD to bring him down; he probably went down willingly at that point to save some gas for the 4th quarter (or jail cell) where he'd really need the energy.

2012 NBA Draft Diary

It's 10:11.. the NBA high-5 bench guys are probably getting picked now and I'm just starting my 1st draft diary.. why? Well, because Kayla wanted to go out to eat for our anniversary first. That's all I'm going to say about that.  Without further ado, I've got some catching up to do (See what I did there?)

Anthony Davis isn't very attractive even if he whittles out some of that huge unibrow. On a side how, how can you have a basketball team without a gym? Do you really expect me to believe this team brought a hoop out from the building to the parking lot to practice.. don't they play in the winter in Chicago?

Anybody else completely shocked by MKG going #2? I thought it would be Bradley Beal for sure. Pretty cool to see this interview though.

Good to know Jay Bilas can make fun of himself. Wingspan, Wingspan, Wingspan tip back, America! Haha.. that's classic.

How annoying is Heather Cox? I'm about ready to fast forward her interviews already.

Bradley Beal is a high energy guy? Hard to believe these first 3 picks are all relentless. Also.. how about the comment "Washington must know what they want to do!" Really? Somebody with the 3rd pick has a good idea of what they want? That's crazy.

I'm going to start doing 5 push-ups everytime relent is used somewhere in a word.

Um. Who is Chris Broussard? I mean, really.. is he related to Michael Jackson in anyway? That's where I'm leaning right now. The tone is really throwing me off and making me think Young Michael Jackson right now. I might have to research this later.

If there is one player I don't like in the top 4.. it's well.. Dion Waiters. "I went to college a boy and left a man." Eh.. we shall see, tough guy.

After that Heather Cox interview with Thomas Robinson's sister I think we can officially fast forward her interviews from now on.. that was one of the worst on-air things I have ever seen. "Did you know it's closer to Disney?" "No." "Well, it's closer now than you were before." as she puts the mic in the girls face.. then pulls it away awkwardly. HOW IS SHE SUPPOSED TO RESPOND TO THAT? SHE IS 9 YEARS OLD.

*Yawn* Even I called the Lillard/Barnes picks. Also called Drummond and Rivers. Who did I call them to? Well.. Kayla til she fell asleep then Schatzi, but she doesn't seem to care.

By the way.. how about the Jonas cat for the Raptors. They say he can play.. but I haven't seen him post-up a chair yet.

Did Austin Rivers mean to shave one side of his face and leave the other? Looks like a bad moustache.. I'd expect to see something like that in Blazing Saddles.

Meyers Leonard will be a better pro than college player. Cash it.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.... that should be the Bucks pick. Jeremy Lamb. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.. I might quit watching. I backed the Dalembert trade because they only moved down 2 spots. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. I don't anymore. I'm going to go boo Dalembert this year.

Jay.. the wingspan doesn't make him 6'11. If it did, he wouldn't be 6'5. Duh.

What if Mark May actually asked 2 questions that were related to each other? What if he asked a question.. then waited for an answer.. then asked a follow-up question? I thought that's what interviews were supposed to be like? I'm not getting that from Mark.

10:31: PJ3? Henson? Jones? Zeller? Oh my.. options galore for the Bucks at 14. Lamb was choice #1. At this stage how can you go wrong with any of the 4? Henson and PJIII probably biggest ? marks but also highest upside. Lets just hope the pick doesn't get traded for some 14 PPG high volume shooter and headcase.

10:33: No Heather. That's not funny. Neither is Huckleberry Hound.

10:35: David Stern still getting the boo's from the crowd and loving it. John Henson it is. I guess Hammond really wanted the length they talked about after getting destroyed by the Pacers late in the season. Now you have Dalembert, Udoh, Sanders and Henson. That's a lot of defense and not a lot of offense. We'll see how this works out. Naturally, as a Bucks fan.. I want to see what Henson can do vs. a chair as well. Can he back a recliner down? Can he spin off of it and hammer it down?

10:39: You really want to go by Maurice? I think of Maurice Taylor. That's not a compliment.

10:43: Some other brutal ESPN interview going on.. they were talking about Austin Rivers. Doesn't he seem kinda like a punk? Here is what I think of him.

10:44: How can Anthony Davis trademark a phrase with unibrow or brow in it? Did he actually come up with them? I doubt he was sitting around thinking of sayings that he could use.. somebody else told him some of these sayings so shouldn't THEY trademark them? Sounds like a typical Kentucky cheater to me.

10:45: Stern still getting the boo's. He continues to laugh at all the money he is making.

10:45: I'm a few hours behind but I think Bill Simmons just cried. Royce White to the Rockets, not the Celtics.

10:46: I shoot free throws better than Royce White and Andre Drummond. I should put my form up on youtube so they can work out to it a little bit.

10:48: Doing a draft diary alone isn't very much fun. Too bad T-Razzie was in Minnesota and allegedly at some horse races or this could be much more interesting. We could be intventing water drinking games besides the obvious Jay Bilas ones that could include: Everytime David Stern is booed, whenever an awkward question is asked, relentless, holes in his game, Chris Broussard using slang or lazy english are my original ideas.

10:53: I don't care about Kentucky vs. UNC draft board. Outside of those schools, who does? Jay Bilas made a good point the other day.. as far as a staff "developing NBA talent" most of these guys are freshman or sophomores.. can they really be turned into an NBA player in that little of time? Ugh, no.. not if they weren't already heading that way.

10:56: Worst GM draft thought: Lets get Jared "Not from Subway" Sullinger to go with Big Baby and just beat people up on the low block with fat guys.

10:57: Tyler Zeller just got traded for 3 guys. Really? Is Roy Williams going to get a Cavs hat now and pose with a high-5 and a stupid looking grin?

11:00: Andrew Nicholson.. yes, the 2nd senior drafted already. Jay Bilas just said wingspan and "good hands" Thankfully I didn't bring any water downstairs with me. He's canadian? Y2J better get a hold of him.

11:04: I think I'm going to do the draft diary until my man, PJIII gets picked. We're at pick 20 right now. I'm hoping it's the Nuggets. Nope, it's some French guy.. well, we know 1 thing about him.. he's soft.

11:10: Jared Sullinger to the Celtics? I cannot wait to see Simmons real draft diary tomorrow. This will be classic. It has to be something like this.

11:12: I'm really tired.. but they just called Jared Sullinger a wide body. That's funny. I hope PJIII is the next pick.

11:14: Kevin McHale looks like a wax statue. Is it just me or does he have a weird lisp too? That's not really the guy that did this, was it?

11:15: This stupid ESPN twitter thing just had a KingJames tweet.. good work trying to recruit more guys. "Is Ray Allen gonna play for the Heat, daddy?" I said, "I dunno, I hope so." Smooth LeBron, smooth. Isn't your recruiting budget up for the next few years?

11:18: Not sure why the Celtics took Fab Melo, they already have Greg Steimsma.

11:19: Stop it. "STRAIGHT UP, SHOOTER. John Jenkins can FLAT FILL. IT. UP." Just stop it, ESPN. Just curious.. how'd John Jenkins shoot against the Badgers?

11:20: Whatever happened to Heather Cox? She's not hanging around Mark Jackson is she?

11:21: Is Mike Dunlap related to Ben Stein?

11:23: I'm at the 24th pick and they're talking about MKG still? Come on, man. I know he was the 2nd pick but you couldn't get everything in that you wanted in the last 20-some picks? Wow. Jared Cunningham just got picked. This is killing me, I'm never going to make championship Friday at camp this week just because PJIII won't get picked.

11:25: Chris Broussard just hit me with some knowledge.. here in the mid-20s there are players with talent but some issues that have made them fall. Obviously.

11:28: Fingers crossed this is PJIII to the Grizz. I think Schatzi is alone and scared upstairs. She just growled down the stairs twice.

11:30: I am Uncle Drew.

11:31: Larry Bird is leaving the Pacers but that doesn't stop the white guys from the ACC rolling in. Miles Plumlee. I wouldn't take him in the 1st round. Not this year nor next year or ever. Jay Bilas just said "freak athlete" Add that one to the game for next year.

11:34: I'm willing to stay up awhile so PJIII doesn't end up on the Heat bench and tainted by LeBron, Wade, Battier, and Bosh. I wouldn't want that to happen to my guy. What a horrible place to be.. that's the Siberia of the NBA.

11:36: David Stern thinks he's Vince McMahon. There is no doubt in my mind. He loves being a heel.

11:37: Whew. So glad I don't care about Arnett Moultrie. PLUS, what if OKC took PJIII. Westbrook, Harden, Durantula, Ibaka, PJIII. Say it ain't so.

11:42: Rece Davis annoys me with the Kentucky/UNC theme. Is this on his own or is ESPN pumping him up to do this?

11:42: YESSIR. PJIII TO THE THUNDER! The only way this could have been better for me if he became a Buck! What a way to end my 1st draft diary.. flyin solo. Next year I'll have company. I promise.

Fun with the Thunder and the NBA Trade Machine

The first thing I did after the NBA Finals was to get annoyed with Chris Bosh celebrating. Is there anybody more awkward than a guy that skinny, with that long of arms constantly going for the 2-armed flex fist pump and primal scream? I think not.

Sadly, I stand corrected because while looking for the Bosh celebration I described above.. I actually found this video of him celebrating in the Heat locker room. This is real. This is REALLY how this guy acts. I'm at a loss for words, and that doesn't happen often. I feel this is totally forced and awkward, I wonder if he thinks this was legit or what. Either way.. guy is a clown. Clown celebration, bro.

The next thing I did was to look at OKC Thunder trade options. Why? I dunno, because I like the NBA Trade Machine and all the talk about the Harden and Ibaka contracts coming up. First thing is I'm not sure these guys really need to even make a trade nor do I think they will. They made the finals with a bunch of kids, 2 of whom can go for 40 on any given night and are locked in for the next few years. They have an up-and-coming PF, 6th man of the year, and an alleged good defensive C who was playing through an injury. They have an energy big off the bench (Collison), a long defensive stopper (Thabo) and a back-up PG that was way better than Derek Fisher coming back off an injury (Maynor). So why would I want to go on NBA trade machine and make a trade for them? Well, they didn't win the finals did they? (I know the Heat didn't make any major changes either and they went back the next year to get the job done)

My main reasons for doing that would be the contract situations of Ibaka and Harden, despite Harden's recent comments about a dynasty being built, will he stay? What about Serge Ibaka, a former 24th selection? I thought he could have played a lot more against the Heat and was kind of surprised by what I thought was limited playing time when he was a good/better match-up in the paint than an injured Kendrick Perkins. Ibaka is young, energetic, blocks a lotta shots.. at one point I did call him Serge Iblocka during the playoffs, and he has a decent mid-range jumper.. he can also put the ball on the deck and get to the tin. These will be two very tough signs for the Thunder.. do they go over the luxury tax or stay under? If they stay under it how so.. they'll have to let one or maybe even worse, both go, unless they give a hometown discount.

Biggest OKC need: Scott Brooks loves Russ Westbrook at the PG and he's the coach, so that's all that matters.. but could you imagine a true PG, Russ, Durant, Ibaka and Perkins? Or PG, Russ, Durant, Thabo, Ibaka/Perkins? You'd be a tad undersized in the back court but it wouldn't be anything dangerously bad for today's NBA standards.. plus, you make up for it with a 6'11 SF, 6'11 PF, and a 7 ft C. A PG and I think another long, athletic wing could be huge gets for the Thunder.

What did I do? I went onto ESPN's trade machine and dinked around for a little bit looking to shed a few contracts, which was either Westbrook's with the PPP (poison pill provision) which makes him difficult to trade, Harden.. not because of his salary but what could become of his salary, and Perkins. I try to put Perkins in almost every deal based on my preferences of salary/skill set.

Hawks: Send Russell Westbrook/Kendrick Perkins for Josh Smith/Zaza
--Put Harden into the starting line-up.. Harden, Thabo, Durant, Ibaka, and Josh Smith. Ultimately, you lose size and your starting PG that can get any shot he wants and fits the offense perfectly (that will be the case in most trades). What does it do? Well, you get rid of Perkins long-term contract and diffuse anything going with Russ at the PG spot. Harden can't be worse than he was in the Finals and can step in and handle the ball (ran PG often anyway) for the team. You add a very capable defender, an athletic body and shot blocker that can crash the boards. That being said, Smith can be very temperamental and who knows how he'd fit in being the 3rd option on offense.

Celtics: This is probably my favorite thought... Rondo to the Thunder and they can keep Russ. Harden/Perkins + pick(s) to the Celtics. Now, I get it.. the Celtics just traded Perkins to the Thunder.. well, KG didn't like that. Pierce didn't like that. Now, he has a chance to go back and play for them.. maybe it entices KG to come back. The Celtics have to look to make a play with Rondo/Pierce being the two guns back.. here they can add a starting defensive C and a SG/PG + pick(s) I'd imagine to end it. Maybe the 2012 1st rounder? Imagine sliding Rondo, an incredibly gifted passer/defender/rebounder next to Westbrook AND KD?! Rondo, Russ, KD, Thabo, Ibaka. You might have problems with some size here and a capable backup C is definitely needed.. but the speed and athletic ability of this team would put anybody to shame. They could be very disruptive on offense and defense and be hard to keep up with for 48 minutes. Somebody get me Danny Ainge and Sam Presti on the phone! I'd think Boston would have SOME interest in this adding a young scorer that compliments Pierce, a defensive C that Pierce and KG like (and hope he resigns) and a 1st round draft pick. Am I way off on this?

Bulls: Couldn't find a suitable way to get Luol Deng that would sorta make sense to both teams. This would be interesting to look further into, however.

Cavs: I'd like Varajeo but that would take Perkins/Harden and that's not a good idea.

Pacers: It'd take Harden/Perkins to get Granger which I don't think is terrible, actually. Granger is there for a few more years.. Perkins is insurance for Hibbert (but if Hibbert stays trade would be off) Pacers get to add a young scoring wing that can create on his own, which they struggle with at times. Thunder would add another tall, athletic wing that can defend, rebound and shoot the ball. Your line-up could then be: Russ, Granger, KD, Thabo, Ibaka. Little small upfront, but you're longer in the back court in this situation, plus you have 2 solid wing defenders in Granger and Thabo.

Bucks: Harden/Ibaka for Udrih/Jennings. Why? Because I'm a Bucks fan. Duh! There are some ways to get Brandon Jennings to the Thunder, but I don't think the Bucks would do it nor do I think he's a "true" PG.. nor would he even be an upgrade.

Knicks: Could Harden/Perkins get Tyson Chandler? Yes, according to the trade machine.. bad news is that the Thunder would be losing a HUUUUUUUUUUGE scorer off the bench and have nowhere else on the roster to get those points. The good news is they'd get better at the C position by a huuuuuuuuuuuuuuugge amount. Sadly, in the end it isn't worth it for the Thunder and no point in looking further because the Knicks don't have any scoring to offset the Harden addition.. and Zeke Thomas is gone so Thabo, Maynor, and Perkins wouldn't get the job done.

Magic: Came up with this one the other day.. little interesting I think. We know the Magic probably are going to deal Dwight Howard. I don't think the Thunder would really want him as a rental, you don't trade a potential dynasty for a 1-year run.. but if you did? Howard/Earl Clark for Perkins, Westbrook and Cook. Would the Magic do it? Eh.. they get a defensive C and one of the league's up and coming guards as well as a 3-pt shooter.. They love shooters. Basically is a huge downgrade at C, a franchise player, worth the risk of a up and coming athletic guard? Maybe. They'd control Perkins and Westbrook for a few more years and if they could snake a 1st round pick out of it... meanwhile, the Thunder would, of course, move Harden to the starting line-up. Harden, Thabo, KD, Ibaka, and Howard. Yeah, read that again.

76ers: Perkins/Harden for Iggy. Again, I'm losing scoring off the bench and the 76ers apparently want to move into the top 7ish for Iggy.. so trading a starting C and a 6th man of the year for him doesn't make much sense. 76ers don't have much with the roster right now so picks would have to be involved for the Thunder. Perkins replaces Hawes. Harden becomes a scorer that can help Holiday and Turner. What would Iggy do for the Thunder? Eh.. he can do things (defend, play off the ball, play point-forward, score, rebound, and.. again.. defend). He went for 12-5-6 last year.. I actually think that he's a very good player but at his price tag and what they'd have to give up I'm not sure the Thunder do it. I like his size/skill set for the Thunder though.. Russ, Thabo, Iggy, KD, and Ibaka. Again, you're small up front but long and athletic in the backcourt. That could be a fun team to watch.

I'm only going through the East for now.. I'm not sure I'd want to trade Harden or Westbrook into the West. I'd be too worried they'd butcher me with revenge games.. Westbrook especially. Again, I don't think the Thunder have to make a move nor do I think they should instigate a move, but if some of these trades came up.. Magic/Celtics.. don't you at least have to say, "We're listening."?



NBA Draft Thoughts

I figured I'd start blogging again here and there because the world needs to know my thoughts. Now that LeBron had one of the best playoff stretches ever and got himself a title with the Miami Heat I can say he only needs 7 titles to back up his words.. no longer does he need a full 8. Congrats to the Miami Heat, my least favorite NBA team. I'd rather the Lakers win 5 straight than the Heat win another with James, Wade, and the Raptor (Chris Bosh)

Anyway, that moves us forward to the NBA Draft coming up quickly.. very quickly, Thursday in fact. There, as always, are tons of rumors floating around about trades and who is where on team's boards. I think we can agree the following players will be gone, in no particular order: Anthony Davis (not the Badgers running back), Thomas Robinson, Andre Drummond, MKG, Bradley Beal, Harrison Barnes. That's 6 that I'm fairly solid will be gone, if one of them slips.. it's Drummond. The next group of probably won't be there guys: Damian Lillard, Dion Waiters. That's 8 guys.. the Bucks pick 12.. so who is that next clump? They'll have choices.

Terrence Ross, Jeremy Lamb, Meyers Leonard, Austin Rivers, Tyler Zeller, John Henson, Terrence Jones, and PJIII.

And out of that group.. I see Ross, Leonard and Zeller being gone..

If this were the case what would the Bucks do? All reports have PJIII and Terrence Jones falling. I think they both get a bad rap, I don't like Jones but I think he grew up a lot between his freshman and sophomore years and played hard and efficiently this season for Kentucky. PJ is one of those guys that always leaves you wanting more and wants to be a SF because he appears soft, but he's 6'11 and has some guard skills and decent range. At the same time, his upside is insane and at the END of the lottery is that a bad thing to take a gamble on? Do you play it safe and get a solid player or knowing the NBA is a superstar league, do you go for the home run?

Ross and Rivers refused to workout for the Bucks.. they seem to think the Bucks aren't a good fit.. you know what? I hold grudges and thinks I know people don't like; I'll do on occasion.. Rivers and Ross just shot up my draft board. I actually like Ross, I'm iffy on Rivers.. I think Rivers has pedigree (obviously), talent, and the superstar IT factor.. but I don't care for the way he seems the need to dominate the ball and the he carries himself. The Bucks have Jennings and Ellis; I'm not sure Rivers could come in, sit on the bench AND not dominate the ball when he was in. Oh.. there's the whole 7 series thing he had going on recently at a work-out.

The guy I hope they take the most, if he slipped, Jeremy Lamb and it's not even close. Jennings and Ellis are undersized and Hammond/Skiles made comments about needing length on the roster.. Lamb certainly fits the build at 6'5 and with a crazy wingspan. I LOVE the way he moves without the ball and shoots off the catch. To me, Lamb is very efficient at setting his feet and/or squaring in the air. He locks his feet and shoulders to the basket off screens very well.. I'm not saying he's Rip Hamilton/Ray Allen off the ball because those guys were two of the best in the game, but he's coached in that same program they were and you can certainly see those traits in his game. I'm not sure he can run the point, nor do I think you'd "waste" him at the point anyway, he needs to be more aggressive at getting to the tin, with his athletic ability and size, he needs to take advantage of it. I see him more as a 2-guard that can play in a 3-guard lineup with Jennings/Ellis or be the 2 while the other is running the point. He'll get beat up for a bit vs. thicker guards, but he should make things tough for them.

Lamb is my #1 hope for Bucks draft night.

My Original 7 Round Packers Draft

The 2012 NFL Draft is over... and I think things went fairly well for the Packers. I was a little disappointed they passed over on some of my projected picks especially with all the film, practices, interviews and combine events I attended.. oh wait. I'll go back through.. like usual and put my original pick and the Packers pick then do it with trades.. at the end of the season, I'll come back and check to see how I did.

28: Projected Pick: Janoris Jenkins
Packers Pick: OLB Nick Perry
My pick of who was available: CB Janoris Jenkins
Perry certainly fills a need and the Packers are excited about him. He's big around 270lbs and certainly fast with some straight line speed. It'll be interesting to see if they can take that size and put him into the edge of the 3-4 OLB opposite of Clay. It sounds like they're going to give it a shot, I hope it works.. but that's a big guy in a lot of space. I know Jenkins has obvious concerns.. but he's a top 10 talent at the end of the first round. Teams are pass happy, you either have to rush or cover.. Packers went with rush but with that talent, I woulda went to cover.

59: Projected Pick: Chris Polk
Packers Pick: Traded
My pick of who was available: OLB Vinny Curry
Okay, I didn't know that Chris Polk had some MAJOR injury concerns so you really can't blame me for that.. I did 100% miss that the Packers didn't even draft a RB though so you can fault me there. If the Packers didn't trade this original pick, I woulda kept it the same as is. Vinny Curry, a DE that can stand up in the 3-4. Look at that.. I've gotten a Top 10 CB AND an OLB for the 3-4.

90: Projected Pick: Cam Johnson
Packers Pick: Traded
My pick of who was available: DT Brandon Thompson
I guess CBS and so I was off on Cam Johnson.. but I don't need a DE anyway since I got one last round.. This was another Packers traded pick but one that I grabbed a DT at. My picks have ended up just like the real Packers picks but in a different order. Thompson, some thought, had late 1st round value so to get him at 90 was certainly a steal for me.

123: Projected Pick: FS Brandon Hardin
Packers Pick: Traded
My pick of who was available: DE Jared Crick
I know I shoulda gone safety here.. but Crick was available. I know he didn't have a big year or even a good year.. but he was also hurt. I like technicians and he's big and played inside. I think I'd give him a shot at a DE spot in the 3-4. Not a perfect fit for the defense, but the talent and technique is too good to pass up.

132: Projected Pick: Trevor Guyton
Packers Pick: Mike Daniels
My pick of who was available: S George Iloka
I didn't get a safety last round, but I got him this round. Fairly excited about getting the top rated, not Packers top rated, S left on the board. Packers went McMillian with the next pick. Iloka is proven.

133: Projected Pick: Senio Kelemente
Packers Pick: Jerron McMillian
My pick of who was available: OL Senio Kelemnte
Had the chance of Tank Carder or Senio.. I really like both. Senio can play inside and outside.. sounds like a Packers swing OL to me!

163: Projected Pick: Tank Carder
Packers Pick: Terrell Manning
My pick of who was available: RB Cyrus Gray
I don't not like Manning.. not that at all, I actually think that it's a solid pick. He has burst, he has energy, he certainly has confidence and he fills a need more than Gray does.. but I'm not picking him because I like a HR hitter at RB. Starks, Saine, Green none of those guys showed big burst last year from the run game. The game is different, yes, but I want a HR hitter in case they do run the ball.

197: Projected Pick: Jeff Adams
Packers Pick: Traded pick
My pick of who was available: DL Billy Winn is still available? Yessir.

224: Projected Pick: Micah Pellerin
Packers Pick: Traded
My pick of who was available: Alonzo Dennard
Yeap, again the same pick as at that slot but not by the Packers. Dennard isn't the best corner, and he's not smart (arrested 5 days before draft) but at this point.. some teams had him projected at late 1st, early 2nd around seasons start.. that's value.

235: Projected Pick: Akiem Hicks
Packers Pick: Traded
My pick of who was available: Cam Johnson
Look familiar?

241: Projected Pick: Chris Owusu
Packers Pick: Andrew Datko
My pick of who was available: Chris Owusu
Apparently he's an injury concern also. Whatever. He doesn't have to get tackled just run go patterns along the sideline for Rodgers to get.

243: Projected Pick: Case Keenum
Packers Pick: BJ Coleman
My pick of who was available: Kellen Moore
I don't care about his noodle arm. He's awesome.

Green Bay Packers 2012 Mock Draft

Again, using the same philosophy of last year I went to cbssports.com and found people ranked below the Packers pick. For instance, even if I think a player might be available at the Packers pick if CBS has them ranked 24th I couldn't take them.. because the Packers pick at 28. Without further ado:

28- CB Janoris Jenkins--Not sure he falls this far, not going to find a better CB at this spot ever. Elite athlete and cover guy, character concerns, but as long as he's not Johnny Jolly we're okay. Gives flexibility with Woodson. Also considering: Konz, Zeitler, Hightower (beautiful spot to be in.. should be quality players on the lines or DBs here.)

59- RB Chris Polk-- Seems more athletic than their other guys.. if the Packers wanted a real HR threat, I'd say LaMichael James here but I'm not sure that's their kinda guy. Also considering: Bruce Irvin, George Lloka, and LaMichael James

90- DE Cam Johnson-- Undersized right now, but reports are strong as an ox with long arms and some pass rush ability. Packers got NOTHING from their DEs last year and didn't even play a ton of base 3-4, so why not?

123- FS Brandon Hardin-- Also really looked at DE/OLB Jonathan Massquoi. Will I ever take an OL? Who knows.

132- DE Trevor Guyton- Taking the ol' draft 5 guys at one position and hope one of them sticks approach.

133- OL Senio Kelemete- I'm never convinced with the Packers OL and with a franchise QB back there you have to have him healthy. The Packers worry me but have done a good job with passing rules as are and A. Rodge's mobility to keep him healthy. Yet, the OL worries me and is not very good, ever. See: Short yardage.

163- ILB Tank Carder- Yessir, I remember this stiff and liked the way he played. Great defensive school, overachiever, love guys like this in the mid-rounds.

197- OT Jeff Adams- Small school, light, but gets after it. Athletic enough to get to the 2nd level and use angles to shield guys off. Sounds like a patsy Packers OL

224- CB Micah Pellerin- Never have enough DBs in the game today.. played CB and both S spots in college. Versatility.

235- DT Akiem Hicks- More D-end Packers size but should have potential if they can hide him on the practice squad for a season.

241- WR Chris Owusu- 4.36. I know we have 38 WRs. I don't care.

243- QB Case Keenum- Spread offense, smart, great leadership/intangibles. Is he athletic enough and does he have a strong enough arm? At 243, I'm willing to find out.

All-Time NBA Reasoning

So.. you've had a chance to see both teams and now I'll go into my reasonsing. First, here's my starting line-up regardless of my opponent.

PG: Oscar Robertson
SG: LeBron James
SF: Larry Bird
PF: Bill Russell
C: Shaquille O'Neal

So what am I looking at? Arguably one of the greatest all around PGs in the history of the game.. Mr. Triple Double himself, The Big O running the show. Let me start off by saying.. yes, I read the Book of Basketball by Bill Simmons and yes, I understand there were more shots at that time period and more misses. Guess what.. I don't care. Oscar was a PG and a career 48% shooter, they said he could get to any spot on the floor that he wanted, whenever he wanted. He was 6'5. He got to the foul line 8+ times a game for his career.. those stats translate to ANY era.
He also had great court vision, could handle it and again.. he was 6'5. He put the ball in your shooting pocket besides his scoring ability. He was also, by all reports, a solid defender who didn't back down.

Here is the first "hmmm.." on my team.. not that I have LeBron but that I am starting him at... SG? Shockingly, he's not as bad of a shooter as you'd think.. he shoots 48% but just 33% from 3. That's okay, I don't need him to bomb away; I've got other guys that can do that. I need him to use his size and athletic ability to frustrate a certain Michael Jordan character that my opponent sports. On the other hand, hoping he can make MJ or somebody else work on the other end. Bron can slash and kick and is a great rebounder for me.. an excellent guy to have at the 2.. and the best part... he doesn't even have to think about taking the last shot! He can facilitate and let Oscar work from the 2 if needed. LOVE IT.

At the 3, my first selection. The Legend. This is going to be interesting because the way I see it.. LeBron has to guard Jordan. Oscar has to guard Kobe.. which leaves Larry attempting to guard a PG, yes, he has to try to guard Magic to start the game. Thankfully, he's one of the most underrated defenders of all-time.. and happens to have Bill Russell behind him. Whew. Either way, Magic has to guard Larry on the other end, which makes things fun both ways. Larry can obviously step out and hit the 3, can score on the move or on the block and is probably the best passing forward to ever play the game.

Bill Russell. The ultimate winner. Everything you read or see about the guy oozes with confidence and understanding of both people and the game of basketball. How can you have a chemistry problem with him on your squad? You can't. You also can't have a problem defending. Look, I'm not looking for ol 44% shooting from the field and 56% from the line to step up and knock down some shots. I am looking for him to defend the most fundamental big in the game, Tim Duncan, protect the rim.. defend Kareem/Wilt if need be and rebound whatever misses there happen to be. It's an all-time team.. you think I can't find people to score? Oh, and if you get lazy and leave him alone he'll just score off a lob from one of my distributors or crash the boards and score that way.

Shaq. Young Shaq had to be one of the most imposing players to ever play the game. Athletic and strong as an oxe, he was REALLY fun to watch in college, with the Magic and early Lakers. He could take over a game. 10x he led the league in shooting %. TEN, he shot 58% in his career! You think that he couldn't take creampuff Kareem on the block and abuse and discard him however he wanted? Child, please. How do you stop him? Foul him. Okay, foul out Kareem and Wilt, I'm fine with that. He was also an underrated passer and an intimidating defender averaging over 2 blocks a game 12 of his first 13 years in the league. He can score on Kareem all. day. long.

My bench is about roles:
Jerry West. 6'2 and by all accounts played bigger. 27 PPG, 47% shooter. 81% from the line. Over 5 rebounds and 6 assists a game. He can score, defend, distribute and play either guard spot.

Walt Frazier. Revolutionary. 6'4 and another very good defender. 19 PPG, 6 boards, 6 assists. I'd put him at the PG as my main back-up there and let West play the SG. 49% shooter, 79% from the line.

Hakeem. IMO one of the most underrated players to ever play the game. A nightmare at over 7' and freakishly athletic. 22 PPG, 11 RPG.. oh.. and 3 blocks per game for his career?! Several seasons over 4!  51% from the field and 71% from the line. You think with a lead late in the game I can't slide Hakeem in for Bill Russell get the same rebounding/defense with better FT%? Or put him in for Shaq and put Larry at the 4? He'd get major minutes since I basically have 3 bigs, and I wouldn't lose a beat with him in. BTW: Shaq said that Hakeem was probably the toughest match-up he ever faced in the game.. he might start by series end.

Pistol Pete. My favorite player in the NBA with The Legend. I want you to remember a few things here.. first, despite what many people believe, Pistol wanted to win more than anybody. He wasn't a circus show that played for himself, read the things his teammates said.. He hated to lose. With Bill, West, and Frazier I wouldn't be afraid of leadership being an issue. Pistol could come off the bench and do as he pleased.. by all accounts he had incredible NBA 3-pt range (10-15 career when they finally added the line) but he shot from out there a lot anyway. He was probably the best passer to ever play the game, yes, I said it. Imagine Russell with a rebound, outlet to Pistol with Shaq or Hakeem or LeBron running the floor and Bird/Ray Ray spotting up. He could push the tempo, he could come off the bench as my microwave, and he could get in the lane and distribute. He was built for a team like this.

Dr. J: Do I really get him to come off the bench? Is this some sort of sick joke? 30,000 career points, 50% career shooting percentage, 8.5 boards, 4 assists, 2 steals and almost 2 blocks a game. Freakishly athletic. 77% FT shooter, semi 3-pt range. He can defend and he can get out and go.. now, my first 5 come out.. Imagine Dr. J on the wing getting full court outlet passes from The Pistol? C'mon man. That's not fair!

Ray Allen: I wanted a 3-pt marksman and considered Reggie Miller, Dale Ellis and even Dell Curry. Those are my favorite 3 point shooters, but Ray Ray is my favorite of them all and probably can do more than the others combined. He's turned into a solid defender, can handle the ball, pass and is, of course, an absolute marksman and really effective on the break. With the passers and slashers this game has there figures to be a lot of help in the paint stopping the dunk/drives and why not have the NBA's all time 3 point leader standing around the line reading to snipe. 40% career from 3, 89% from the FT line and 20 PPG. A great bench player.

Dennis Rodman: Yup, The Worm. Chemistry matters, remember? So where does The Worm fit in? Easy, the bench just straight boards and defense. Do you think that Red Auerbach, William Russell, The Legend and company would let one guy ruin chemistry? I don't. That's why I'm not worried about it and looking forward to adding a guy that can defend the 1-4 and just get after it defensively. He is actually a 52% shooter because he never shot more than lay-ups except those random 3s he drained. He was only a 58% FT shooter. 7 PPG, 13 RPG.. 6 straight seasons of leading the league in boards and 14.9 was his lowest amount.. absurd in that era. Oh, by the way.. 10 times he was an ALL-NBA player, 7 of them 1st team. That's my 12th man, the modern eras best rebounder and a 10x All-NBA defender.

IR: Kevin Durant. 6'9 with like 7-4 wingspan. 26.6 PPG career and 2x leading scorer already.
IR: Kevin McHale. 55% and 80% FG and FT. More ways to score on the block than Jabbar.
IR: Bob Cousy. 37% FG, 80% FT. 8 straight leading league in assists. 18, 7, 4 career numbers. (BTW: This link is probably the first I've ever seen of him.. lets be for real, if I saw this earlier, he wouldn't be on my IR. He was WAY ahead of the rest of those clowns. My goodness.)

That gives my bench the chance to have a wing, PG, and post player in case of an injury.

I can go big, small, offensive, defensive, and rotate guys in and out. Don't think I wouldn't press and run and gun with these guys. I will.

Good luck, JD, you're gonna need it.