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Michigan boys basketball Top 10 for Week of 2/7

Mon, 15 Feb 2010 20:05:45 EST

Top Ten for Week of 2/7

1. Detroit Country Day

2. Romulus

3. Detroit Pershing

What does it take to be No. 1?

Mon, 01 Feb 2010 0:47:49 EST

Most Michigan prep basketball pundits have are getting their rankings out for the Top 10 this week about this time, and I have some qualms after seeing the moving and shaking that's gone on after submitting my ballot of votes.

Is Muskegon Heights the best team in the state? Well, I haven't seen any rankings where they're below Detroit Country Day, which is foolish to me. There are some good wins, but is it really enough to push them ahead of a Kurt Keener's squad, who loses to Kalamazoo Central without their star center Amir Williams? I don't think so. Let's see these teams go H2H in the Class B playoffs and see who emerges. I'd put my lunch money on No. 3 Ray McCallum and his boys.

Speaking of Kalamazoo Central, are they really Top 5 material? Look, beating Country Day without their own star Devin Oliver, a Dayton commit and our No. 8 player in the state, was impressive. I'm just not sure what else warrants such a high ranking. They've lost to Saginaw (and Arthur Hill if I'm not mistaken).

Michigan's top boys basketball team wins again

Mon, 01 Feb 2010 0:41:07 EST

With only one home game remaining on the schedule, Kurt Keener's squad gave the home crowd a good show.

Still missing the services of center Amir Williams (No. 52 on Rivals 150 of 2011), No. 1 Detroit Country Day dominated rival Orchard Lake St. Mary's 73-50 Friday night to win the Voorheis Trophy, annually awarded to the winner.

The Yellowjackets got solid production out of their guards, with senior guard Ray McCallum (No. 60 Rivals 150 of 2010) leading with 22 points and 12 rebounds, and junior Lee Bailey posting 17 points.

"This is a big game for Lee," McCallum said. "He brought his game and did what he had to do, definitely knocked down a lot of big-time shots."

Extra Innings: A look back and ahead on the Tiger

Sat, 10 Oct 2009 18:23:54 EDT

People in Detroit are bitter, and I've seen some other viewpoints I'm obviously not going to point out that are overly-critical and downright bitter towards Tigers management. That's not the point of this exercise.

What I want to do is look at not particularly how this collapsed happened directly, but how this team landed here, and where it's going.

Alright, so the pre-season. We have some good things that happened. Let's look at them:

SS Edgar Renteria - Didn't pick up his option, and the buyout on his contract was $3 million (option $12 million). Pretty obvious. Well he batted .250 with the Giants , and no one is surprised.

Quick Hits from Sunday

Mon, 21 Sep 2009 21:08:51 EDT

You want to know the most overrated content on fantasy websites?

Projections. For the most part, utterly useless.

We're talking about a computer system spitting out numbers here, and even if they're calculated, they're flawed for a reason that most casual fantasy players don't even realize. What's the difference between your typical No. 1 and No. 3 wide receivers? Well, sure, Steve Smith probably catches 20 or 30 more ypg than Donald Driver, but he's going to score a lot too if Jake Delhomme comes out of his coma. But what probabilities does RoboProjector use when forecasting scoring? I doubt it's analyzing matchups with opposing cornerbacks and changing philosophies, things that make the difference between the guy that the computer projects to score and the player it doesn't.

UFC Fight Night 19 Picks: Excited?!?

Wed, 16 Sep 2009 17:02:59 EDT

I want to emphasize that if Dennis Miller, George Carlin and Greg Giraldo had a sarcasm stew, it couldn't match the level of the "Excited?!?" in the headline.

Predictably, Dana White knows that this season of the Ultimate Fighter needed a lead-in event, but already had enough publicity going that he didn't have to put too many of his big chips into this one for it to draw. Just a quick explanation, for anyone who needed such.

I do think, however, that we're going to see very few decisions. In fact, I picked NONE. Lots of guys who like to finish, by ground or by hands, and a lot of guys that are, well, just not so talented as their opponent. Few will have look as overmatched since Jake Delhomme last sunday.

Onto the picks:

Week 1 Fantasy Football Rankings

Fri, 11 Sep 2009 21:26:10 EDT

With getting out my 2009 overall fantasy football rankings on here and amongst other places, I'm a little late admittedly on these. I'm omitting players from last night's Steelers-Titans defensive battle. It was a tough blow overall for Steelers fans and owners of their defense losing Troy Polamalu for 3-6 weeks. The guy was everywhere on the field last night, covering Bo Scaife or making plays in the secondary. Willie Parker looked downright awful as well, and I might have been overrating him in moving him up in my rankings at the last minute upon word that he would get the majority of carries. Maybe it's just the hamstring still recovering, we'll see next week.

Quarterbacks

Drew Brees vs. DET

Tom Brady vs. BUF

The Royalty of Roto 2009 Fantasy Football Ranks

Thu, 10 Sep 2009 5:41:05 EDT

I anticipated on getting these out position-by-position, but with other drafts and preparing other content, this is all of it. Included below are the quarterback rankings and notes from the previous post.

As noted before, a + indicates that a player is both preferred and anticipated to be a good value for his current draft position, and coversely so with a - sign.

Quarterback Drew Brees (+) Tom Brady (+) Peyton Manning Aaron Rodgers (+) Tony Romo Donovan McNabb Kurt Warner Matt Schaub (+) Philip Rivers Matt Ryan (+) Carson Palmer David Garrard (+) Ben Roethlisberger Jay Cutler Joe Flacco Matt Hasselback Matt Cassel Trent Edwards (Last of good No. 2’s – GET BACKUP BEFORE HERE) Brett Favre Shaun Hill Jason Campbell

Fantasy Draft: Round-by-round

Tue, 08 Sep 2009 15:12:11 EDT

Everyone should take advantage of mock drafts. They're what prepare a good fantasy player best for the real thing, whether you have ample rankings sitting in front of you or not.

So I'm here with a real draft, one that can serve as a mock for anyone else to see where players are landing. Is Brandon Marshall rising again? Is Derrick Ward falling? Well, here's an opportunity to take a gander.

I'll be updating during the draft as much as possible. 10-team league, 2 RB, 3 WR. I believe this means you need to grab wide receivers even higher than if your league uses 2 RB/2 WR/1 Flex, with a finite amount of top-tier receivers out there this year.

Enjoy.

2009 Fantasy Football Rankings: Quarterback

Tue, 08 Sep 2009 4:21:08 EDT

After a journalistic hiatus of sorts, I've returned for some fantasy goodness.

Part of the reason for that hiatus was hours and hours of pouring into preparation for fantasy football. I'll be covering one of my teams as an example of what to do, and not to do in the future, but I want to share the good of what got me there: these rankings. There are no complete projections for them, but they are the combination of reading numerous publications, constant updates of training camp and preseason situations, listening to hours upon hours of podcasts, and absorbing anything else I could into a meticulous ranking system.

Keep in the mind these are for a standard settings league (4 pts. for passing touchdowns, no PPR, etc.). You'll notice players that I prefer to own, or tend to be players with good value this year, are indidcated by a + sign. And with no further ado, the QB rankings:

Staying hot in the heat

Fri, 14 Aug 2009 18:09:50 EDT

It's been a while, but a lot has been going on in the dog days of summer in my life, even though sports news is generally slow.

In MMA circles, UFC 101 was a generally lackluster showing, even overshadowed by the events of WEC 42, featuring a spectacular knockout of Miguel Torres by new WEC Bantamweight Champion Brian Bowles, ending Torres' 17-fight win streak and reign as king of the division. I anticipate that similar to Urijah Faber, Torres is back in contention for the title within the next 12 months.

More surprising was the news coming out recently that UFC welterweight Tamdan "The Barn Cat" McCrory and middleweight contender Thales Leites were cut following loses in UFC 101.

Dana White wasn't the only one surprised when it was announced that Tamdan McCrory and Thales Leites were cut. I think a whole lot of MMA fans, including myself, were also taken aback.

UFC 100: The Ultimate Results + Reactions

Sun, 12 Jul 2009 19:21:50 EDT

Lesnar turns heel! USA over UK! Mark Coleman: It's alive!

For all the hype, UFC 100 performed respectably, and inside the MMA community, actually exceeded realistic expectations considering all the marketing that went into it. For the first time in the UFC in recent history, a title fight went five rounds and was entertaining (Note: Anderson Silva's recent bout clearly not included). George St. Pierre dominated Thiago Alves so efficiently that there is almost a lack of future contenders that viewers will see as legitimate to Pierre's welterweight throne. St. Pierre is to the welterweight division as is The Undertaker to Wrestlemania.

If you were out with friends or simply socializing somewhere across America as I was during the event, you know that emotions were riding as high as the Revolutionary War for the Dan Henderson/Michael Bisping clinic. I suspected Henderson might simply play Bisping's game better mixed in with superior wrestling en route to a unanimous decision, but ended up with a knockout that emphatically sent Bisping back down the ladder. I'm guessing that Dana White was rooting for Bisping to come out victorious in order to set up a huge UK-hosted title fight between he and Anderson Silva, but the former Pride champion ended any chance of that emphatically.

UFC 100: The Ultimate Predictions

Sat, 11 Jul 2009 19:24:59 EDT

Here's the picks for UFC 100:

Brock Lesnar v. Frank Mir

Winner: Brock Lesnar Technical Knock Out

Dong Hyun Kim v. TJ Grant

Liriano's Independence Day?

Sat, 04 Jul 2009 20:17:36 EDT

Happy Fourth of July sports fans. Unfortunately, the tragedy of Steve McNair's death looms over today's holiday in the sports world following a number of other well-publicized deaths. The real tragedy is that McNair was only 36.

It's going to be a quick one with a long day coming, and after a long night that concluded in a 16 inning victory for the Tigers over the Twins in Minnesota 11-9. The real fantasy issue has to be from today's game, however, after Fransisco Liriano's latest outing. No, Liriano didn't get the win, but he did limit the Tigers to just three runs (and two walks more importantly) over 7 IP to go along with eight strikeouts as well.

After a disasterous start, Liriano's numbers since the beginning of June now look something like this over six starts:

Oh, Henry! Top recruit from KU to UK?

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 22:10:05 EDT

Being a fan of any high-major NCAA college basketball program these days, you are bound to be subject to a late recruiting tiff not so infrequently. It's time again for Kansas fans, but with the cupboard not so bare, does KU need Xavier Henry as bad as Henry needs KU?

This topic wouldn't even be up for debate if Henry simply skipped town before Lance Stephenson reportedly committed to the University of Cincinnati recently. Stephenson could have jumped in just as admirably and been another impact piece that would have kept the Jayhawks as the favorite to tear down the nets next year along with Collins, Aldrich and rising sophomore Tyshawn Taylor. But with Stephenson and top prospect John Wall already off the board, this is a hot topic.

NBA Draft '09: Passing on Jennings trendy mistake

Thu, 25 Jun 2009 20:34:21 EDT

On the cusp of Ricky Rubio being picked, we're looking at one of the most talented passing-point guards of recent memory. We hear that a lot, but in watching what available footage of this guy there is, there doesn't seem to be a strong counter-argument to that statement.

The real news, however, is that Brandon Jennings is dropping faster than celebrities today. Why? Sure, his numbers weren't impressive, but we all know that numbers from Europe don't necessarily translate. Jennings was clearly the most talented to ever jump from high school to play in Europe, so how he produces in the NBA over the first several years of his career could be a trial run of sorts as to whether or not it pays off.

Regardless, you can't debate the fact that Jennings has all the talent in the world. Is he cocky, and still a bit inexperienced, well yes. But he has a solid jumper with a quick release, explosiveness, and good lateral movement and hands defensively. He doesn't deserve to fall out of the Top 10 prospects in this draft.

UFC Picks: TUF 9: Team US vs. Team UK Finale

Tue, 23 Jun 2009 9:52:41 EDT

It's been a busy week with no real updates, a lot going on around here. I'm going to update this with picks at least tonight, with analysis hopefully coming tomorrow.

My current record through 2009 stands at 55-21, or 72.4%. That's as good as or better than CBSSports.com's MMA Experts. Nonetheless, some of them have some very good opinions and analysis, and as always, picking fights can be highly unpredictable at times. .

Update: Sorry for the late revision, but the results from my picks, finally, are here.

Bouts:

UFC 99: Ace Trumps Silva + Results & Analysis

Sun, 14 Jun 2009 4:46:25 EDT

Cro Cop returned, Velasquez ascended and the Ace handled the Axe, all before the sun went down here in the United States.

Complete with a few controversial endings, UFC's first event in Germany had a handful of exciting televised bouts nonetheless. As expected, Franklin and Silva put on an exciting fight that "Ace" took by unanimous decision, but in which the "Axe Murderer" arguably delivered more damage. Silva hurt Franklin badly in the second round, but the former UFC Middleweight Champion seemed to have Wanderlei's timing down after the first round and was able to weather the flurries of punches that Silva dished out.

We also got a look at what somewhere down the road has to be a formidable opponent for UFC Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar, with Cain Velasquez improving his record to 6-0 over Chieck Kongo. You can probably remove the prospect tag off Velasquez, but don't hand him an experienced one just yet either. Velasquez, a two-time NCAA All-American wrestler showed off elite endurance and frequent as well as effortless takedowns and transitions into mount on Kongo that impressed. Kongo, though, seemed to outmatch Velasquez on his feet and did damage with punches, but closed in allowing Velasquez to take him down and control the fight. Velasquez still needs to improve his ability to finish and his submissions, and also showed that while he was beating Kongo with ground and pound, he wasn't severely damaging him the way a fighter like Mark Coleman would. That said, a lot of potential still here.

Extra Innings: Fantasy bits and pieces

Fri, 12 Jun 2009 7:42:44 EDT

How do you know when to start panicking if your fantasy baseball team is lacking? When there's nothing else to pour over.

The NBA and NHL Finals are just one game away from being decided, and it's usually around this time, just over a third into the season, when your team's surpluses and shortcomings start becoming real apparent. If you haven't corrected those categories that you're falling a little behind in, get on it. In a deal that continues to look better and better, I traded Bobby Abreu, Yuniesky Betancourt and Alex Gordon for Alexei Ramirez and Jack Cust to try and gain some power. Clearly this swap was the epitime of the "sell high, buy low" theory. Abreu wasn't that far off from batting twice what Ramirez was, and I thought he might be capable of stealing 30-30 bags. Now Abreu hasn't swiped a base since May 19th, and the deal is looking great.

Color Blind: Evans/Jackson is big story

Fri, 29 May 2009 5:28:18 EDT

Look for it in the headlines: nope. Try even the MMA section: Notta. There's no reason for this. Scratch that, no excuse .

With so much attention devoted to the joke that was Jose Canseco's MMA circus-bout this past Tuesday, you'd think that when some legitimate news comes out of the sport, major sports media outlets would jump on the opportunity. Nevertheless, when news broke Thursday via UFC President Dana White that "Sugar" Rashad Evans and Quinton "Rampage" Jackson would be coaching the next season of The Ultimate Fighter followed by a long-anticipated fight between the two, the news is quieter than the eye of a hurricane in some places.

Now on the fighter's own merits, this is a newsworthy clash by itself. Evans is an elite wrestler out of Michigan State who was previously undefeated in the UFC until Sunday, when he dropped the UFC Light Heavyweight belt to karate ace Lyoto Machida. Evans won heavyweight division of The Ultimate Fighter 2 , and went on to defeat future UFC Hall of Famer Chuck Lidell, and also holds victories over two other Ultimate Fighter winners, Forrest Griffin and Michael Bisping.

The NBA: Where predictable happens?

Wed, 27 May 2009 18:30:07 EDT

Here in Detroit, just like every other sports city right now with a team still in the playoffs (but out of the economic pandemic, hopefully), we've gotten together to watch the Red Wings here in Hockeytown for games during the postseason.

I've found when talking to Ohio fans that when the tension between the two states is unleashed, hockey is immediately dismissed from the conversation. Why? Well maybe because Detroit dispatched Columbus recently, but that's not all of it. The Cavaliers are, or were, riding high; therefore, there's going to always be a reason to shove hockey under the rug.

This discussion is much greather than just the Detroit and Columbus, though, and I'm not talking about the things that happen to Michigan fans when they leave their cars at Ohio State games. Now with the Pistons barely treading water after being a force in the East for years, fans around these parts, and even national media were clammering about how the NBA Playoffs were predictable this year, and how exciting hockey is. Predictable ?

Opening Day, sort of

Wed, 27 May 2009 17:12:13 EDT

Okay, so not really Opening Day, just a few months late.

After running some blogs here and there, I've decided to settle down somewhere that I frequent often with running teams this year here. Coincientally, while I find that CBS runs one of the best fantasy baseball interfaces on the internet, I respectfully enjoy the pennings of many other websites, so I wanted to bring my own flavor here.

I'm going to establish a format for what topics will run what days sooner than later, but in the meantime, onto a little fantasy baseball, something that will be touched upon as often as anything else in this space.

A lot of discussion in the baseball community revolves around lineup protection, a subject that really has emerged again over the last weeks with Manny Ramirez absence in Los Angeles, and now the return of A-Rod in the Bronx. Statistical research has shown that there's really no connection between the two, but Mark Teixeira fantasy owners certainly must beg to differ, including myself. I called Teixeira a buy-low candidate prior to Rodriguez returning to the lineup, and I wasn't wrong.