Football Update

I decided to revisit my draft summary from before the season.  I can't imagine going into detail on any one team's fate, since at this point I only care about making the playoffs.  (PLAYOFFS?!?!??!?)  Anyway, a brief summary of my grades, in order of where they currently rank after seven weeks:

Owner	Team	Record	Grade	Comments
Alex	Fat Broncos	6-1	C-	Embarrassment...
Kelvin	Team Period	5-2	A-	...redemption!
Charles	Bush the good kind!	5-2	B+	This is like picking the Braves to win the division, except the Braves are bastards.
Frank	grease trap	4-3	C	After a 4-0 start, three losses in a row.  The '97 Redskins of fantasy.
Chas	autocrap	4-3	B	I can't help but give Chas good grades.  He's my little hairy man.
Andrew	el guapo	4-3	B	Someone tell Peyton he can throw TDs, it's not the playoffs yet.
Jeff	The Boondock Taints	3-4	B	Kevin Jones is an a-hole.
Kabir	Team KY jelly	2-5	C	Daunte couldn't be any worse; thank goodness for Lamont
Austin	The Winning	1-6	C+	Abandoned ship before Week 1; still beat Jesse
Jesse	Fatty Fatty Toad Boy	1-6	B-	He's trying to move the team out of Cleveland!  Let's give Jesse a big ol' shitburger to eat!

...shitburger?  Well, at least I have fun writing those summaries, even if they're completely wrong.

NBA Action

I'm pretty happy with my first post-dress-code draft.  The Artesticles have lots of team variety and position flexibility, and I didn't get stuck with anyone I didn't want.  I have plenty of injury risks, though (Hughes, Shaq, Duncan) as well as a bunch of guys coming back from significant injuries (Kirilenko, Randolph), so that bench will come in handy.  And, most importantly given my name, I have Ron Artest.

Here's my roster, with draft round.  It's a six-team league, so the roster isn't actually that deep.

Position	Name	Team	Eligibility	Round
PG	Baron Davis	Golden State	PG	3
SG	Larry Hughes	Cleveland	SG	4
G	Kirk Hinrich	Chicago	PG, SG	9
SF	Andrei Kirilenko	Utah	SF, PF	2
PF	Tim Duncan	San Antonio	PF, C	1
F	Ron Artest	Indiana	SF	6
C	Shaquille O'Neal	Miami	C	5
Util	Chauncey Billups	Detroit	PG	7
Util	Antawn Jamison	Washington	SF, PF	8
BN	Cuttino Mobley	Los Angeles Clippers Of Anaheim	SG	10
BN	Zach Randolph	Portland	PF	11
BN	Kenyon Martin	Denver	PF	12

I'm happy.  I'd like a little more punch at guard... some variety of franchise-level guard (Vince Carter, Paul "What, Me Worry?" Pierce, Tracy O'Hanrahan McGrady) in exchange for forward talent.  But I might wait a while before thinking about that.  As long as Hughes stays healthy, there's no urgency.

Hey, I Forgot!

I have a fantasy blog! My football team isn't going so well. It's OK, given that I don't have any breakout players, but I've endured an ACL tear by my #1 wideout, a craptastic sophomore season by my #2 running back, and the first disastrous season by the Pats' defense in five years. Given that, 3-3 is about right. But I need the Injury Gods to strike down more of my competition if I want to survive.

My current roster looks something like this:

QB Brady
RB McGahee
RB K. Jones
WR A. Boldin
WR P. Burress
WR D. Mason
TE T. Heap
K S. Graham
DEF Jacksonville

BN QB E. Manning
BN RB S. Davis
BN WR M. Williams
BN DEF Tennessee

I'm dropping Tennessee in favor of another RB or WR after this week; they're merely a bye-week replacement. Having Stephen Davis as my only injury replacement makes me uncomfortable.

It hurt me to cut New England's defense, but as Coach Belichick would say, this is a business. They haven't forced a turnover in weeks, and couldn't stop a pebble from rolling UP a mountain. Given that Brady and the passing game are the only real bright spot, it's tough to put much stock in the rest of the team right now. If this ends up being a patchwork transition year, like the Red Sox' season turned out to be, that's fine. That doesn't mean I have to endure their statistics, however...

Basketball draft on Tuesday. Wish me luck.