Football News from NFL.com
The New England Patriots released 36-year-old safety John Lynch Sunday, just 16 days after signing the 15-year veteran.
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If John Lynch was to play in the 1st game of the season, the New England Patriots would’ve had to pony up extra cash based on the contract signed only 16 days prior (I don’t know the amount off hand).
By cutting Lynch now and perhaps waiting until after the 1st game of the season, the Patriots look to save money while still getting a quality player for the team.
Fantasy football news from Fantasy Football Daily Tips
The NFL season is approaching fast and its time to solidify your draft strategy. If you go into the draft without a plan, there is a good chance that you will come out with a bad team. Here are some rules to keep in mind as you prepare for winning your fantasy football league.
- Don’t chase last years stars - Brady will have a great year, but he won’t break the touchdown record again. Same for Randy Moss. Expect their stats to fall a bit and adjust your draft accordingly.
- Play it safe in rounds 1 and 2. Get healthy guys that produce year after year.
- Know your rosters and depth charts. They are easy to check at yahoo sports.
- Spend time targeting players in the 6th, 7th, and 8th rounds. These can often be the players that make or break your team.
- Look for good deals, but be careful not to risk too much. Hoping that Manning falls to the third round may cost you an elite QB.
Source: http://fantasyfootballdailytips.blogspot.com
The Arizona Cardinals coaching staff has made a surprising move to start the 2008-2009 NFL season, by choosing veteran Kurt Warner to quarterback the team in the season opener. Warner is certainly deserving after closing out last season w/ 8 consecutive games w/ 2+ touchdowns (in each).
Of course, choosing Warner leaves Matt Leinart as the odd man out. The former USC standout and sometimes “playboy” had a horrible outing 2 weeks ago against the Raiders, throwing 3 INTs in less than a half, but he rebounded greatly in this week’s Broncos game.
Regardless of who head coach Ken Whisenhunt and the coaching staff chose to start, us Cardinals fans (yes, I regret to admit that) expect to see both QBs before season’s end. In fact, I think we’ll see Leinart start at least 1 game by week 5.
Tough choice by the Cardinals, but it’s probably the best option for making the playoffs. They can’t afford to start slowly or get behind in games early. With Warner, they put their best foot forward and give themselves a stronger chance to win.
Today was my fantasy football draft, which I had been looking forward to for several weeks. Unfortunately, I overslept and joined the draft about 5 rounds too late. With the #4 overall pick and draft position, I was in a pretty good spot to develop a strong fantasy squad for this year.
I’m still pretty confident that I can compete pretty well, but the auto-draft picked a few guys I’m not too excited about.
Here are the fantasy picks that Yahoo picked for me:
- Stephen Jackson
- Andre Johnson
- Brandon Jacobs
- Wes Welker
- Marvin Harrison
- Drew Brees
After a few quick expletives were shouted and I figured out Yahoo’s new draft order (just a big damn long auto-scroll bar). There wasn’t a lot of quality left to choose from, but I think I did ok considering everything.
My picks included:
- Thomas Jones (expecting good things w/ Favre at the helm)
- Derrick Mason
- Jake Delhomme
- LenDale White
- Bobby Engram (ok, so I didn’t know he was hurt)
- DeAngelo Williams (hoping this was a steal w/ 14th round pick)
- Alge Crumpler (TE)
- Josh Brown (K)
- Jacksonville (D)
Some of the other teams are loaded w/ a solid RB, WR and QB, but again, I think that my roster can compete any given week. With only 10 teams in my league, several high profile players were still available at draft’s end. The waiver wire will surely be filled w/ other auto-draft victims who will be looking to improve their fantasy roster.
NASCAR News from ThatsRacin.com
FONTANA, Calif. - One year ago Jimmie Johnson roared into the championship chase on the heels of a pair of victories at California and Richmond - a run that helped propel Johnson to his second consecutive Sprint Cup Series championship.
The California native is poised for a repeat performance after easily winning the pole Friday for Sunday’s Pepsi 500 at Auto Club Speedway.
So far this season, Hendrick Motorsports - and Johnson in particular - has struggled at times on NASCAR’s bigger speedways. Johnson hopes that Friday’s pole kicks off a weekend that will show how many gains his No. 48 team has made.
“Last year (the win) just started the confidence in our minds that we’re ready for the Chase. So, you’re looking at what you need to do to be as good as you can in the Chase and building the confidence around yourself and the team that you can be a contender.”
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Football News from NFL.com
The NFL has suspended New England Patriots running back Kevin Faulk for the team’s opening game against the Kansas City Chiefs for violating the league’s substance abuse policy.
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Baseball News from L.A. Times
Angels seemingly move close to a deal with Toronto for the much-needed shortstop, only for talks to stall, apparently when another club enters the picture.
The Angels and Toronto Blue Jays were closing in on a deal Friday that would have returned popular shortstop David Eckstein to Anaheim. But talks stalled, apparently when another club also expressed serious interest in the former World Series MVP.
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The other club is reportedly the Arizona Diamondbacks, who are in need of infield help after losing Orlando Hudson (O-Dog) to an injury a few weeks ago. The D-Backs already made news by trading for Adam Dunn, but could use help as they battle the Dodgers for the postseason.
Arizona is usually a non-participant in trades & waiver wire pickups late in the season, but they are flexing some muscles & dollars this year as they try to win the division and get a playoff berth.
The Angels would be ridiculous if they picked up Eckstein (a former player), since they are already dominating the major league and picked up Mark Teixeira from the Braves. But the Red Sox have been making a lot of moves to position themselves for another World Series run, so the Angels really have no choice but to tray and keep up.
Hockey News from NHL.com
OTTAWA (AP) -The Ottawa Senators traded defenseman Andrej Meszaros to Tampa Bay on Friday for defensemen Filip Kuba and Alexandre Picard and a first-round pick in 2009.
Meszaros had nine goals, 27 assists and 50 penalty minutes in 82 regular-seas…
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Football News from NFL.com
Denver Broncos wide receiver Brandon Marshall was notified by the NFL on Thursday that his three-game suspension for violating the league’s
personal conduct policy has been reduced upon appeal.
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Fantasy football news from Fantasy Football Daily Tips
CNNSI has released a list of NFC sleeper picks for the upcoming fantasy football season. Here are the winners from each team.
- Felix Jones, RB, Dallas Cowboys
- Ahmad Bradshaw, RB, NY Giants
- DeSean Jackson, WR, Philadelphia Eagles
- Jason Campbell, QB, Washington Redskins
- Devin Hester, WR, Chicago Bears
- Kevin Smith, RB, Detroit Lions
- James Jones, WR, Green Bay Packers
- Sidney Rice, WR, Minnesota Vikings
- Laurent Robinson, WR, Atlanta Falcons
- DeAngelo Williams, RB, Carolina Panthers
- Pierre Thomas, RB, New Orleans Saints
- Antonio Bryant, WR, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Tim Hightower, RB, Arizona Cardinals
- Antonio Pittman, RB, St. Louis Rams
- Josh Morgan, WR, San Francisco 49ers
- Maurice Morris, RB, Seattle Seahawks
Source: http://fantasyfootballdailytips.blogspot.com
Jock Jerseys’ take
This is certainly a decent list of players who might breakout in the 2008-09 fantasy football season. For the Giants, Brandon Jacobs has been injured pretty often, so picking up Amhad Bradshaw would be a good idea for your 3rd or 4th bench running back. Devin Hester should be included on a lot of offense this year, in addition to his kick return duties; this might result in some high yardage and/or scoring plays for Chicago. I don’t see any of the other players making significant contributions unless there is a serious injury to a starter. For keeper leagues and deeper drafts (12+ players), these might be serious options. Otherwise, keep your fantasy picks and keep an eye on these player’s stats & your league’s waiver wire. If the player develops or becomes a serious contributor, you’ll need to be on top of it ASAP.
Football News from NFL.com
Coach Tony Dungy increased Peyton Manning’s workload Wednesday, one day after he finally returned to practice and showed no lingering effects from the knee surgery that kept him out for the past six weeks.
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Jock Jerseys’ take
Peyton Manning’s return and increased activity are surely a breath of fresh air for Colts fans and fantasy owners who took a chance in the early rounds. The knee injury is not entirely a thing of the past, but being able to participate in the Colts practice two days in a row and to have increased reps - this is surely a great sign for Manning’s recovery.
Baseball News from L.A. Times
Umpires will now have the option of reviewing disputed home run calls.
While saying he still embraces his sport’s “human element” and its “pace,” Commissioner Bud Selig announced Tuesday that “the time has come” to create a place in baseball for technology by installing limited use of instant replay.
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Hockey News from NHL.com
Movements in the world of hockey Tuesday:
National Hockey League
NASHVILLE PREDATORS-Signed F Nick Spaling.
American Hockey League
SPRINGFIELD FALCONS-Signed F Derek Bekar.
ECHL
LAS VEGAS WRANGLERS-Agreed to terms with C …
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Football News from NFL.com
The Giants moved Mathias Kiwanuka back to defensive end to replace the injured Osi Umenyiora on Monday. Despite the plan, the Giants have also contacted Michael Strahan to gauge his interest in a possible return, reports NFL Network’s Adam Schefter.
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Football News from NFL.com
The New York Giants‘ Osi Umenyiora needs season-ending knee surgery. Umenyiora was hurt in the second quarter of Saturday’s preseason game against the New York Jets.
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