Cheat Sheet

QUARTERBACKS 1 T. Romo - CIN 2 P. Rivers - @MIA 3 J. Cutler - TB 4 D. Brees - MIN 5 P. Manning - @HOU 6 E. Manning - SEA 7 K. Warner - BUF 8 D. McNabb - WAS 9 Hasselbeck - @NYG 10 J. Campbell - @PHI

RUNNING BACKS 1 A. Peterson - @NO 2 M. Barber - CIN 3 L. Tomlinson - @MIA 4 M. Forte - @DET 5 F. Gore - NE 6 C. Portis - @PHI 7 J. Addai - @HOU 8 M. Turner - @GB 9 B. Jacobs - SEA 10 L. Johnson - @CAR

WIDE RECEIVERS 1 T. Owens - CIN 2 B. Marshall - TB 3 Fitzgerald - BUF 4 S. Smith - KC 5 C. Chambers - @MIA 6 R. Wayne - @HOU 7 S. Moss - @PHI 8 G. Jennings - ATL 9 A. Johnson - IND 10 R. Moss - @SF

TIGHT ENDS 1 J. Witten - CIN 2 T. Gonzalez-@CAR 3 A. Gates - @MIA 4 C. Cooley - @PHI 5 Scheffler - TB 6 O. Daniels - IND 7 Da. Clark - @HOU 8 G. Olsen - @DET 9 H. Miller - @JAX 10 D. Lee - ATL

COMPLETE RANKINGS

 
Week 5 Edition (last updated 10/01)

  FANTASY PLAYBOOK PODCAST - Catch Dan Clasgens all season long for his fantasy takes on GetSportsRadio.com

Left-Off: RB Brian Westbrook; WR Anquan Boldin - check back for injury status 

This is freaking hilarious! Team loyalty is something that everyone claims to have, and no fans are more loyal and have more right to be upset right now than Bengals fans. Check this fan out and what he's deciding to do with his loyalty to the Bengals, or in this case, lack thereof. The idea is great and is doubly for a good cause. Hopefully the word will spread around and this guy will end up making a lot of money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

Tony Pike will miss three to four weeks after breaking his non-throwing arm in Saturday afternoon's game against the Akron Zips. Prior to the injury Pike had connected with Mardy Gilyard for two scores, helping to keep the Bearcats in the game at the Rubber Bowl. The Bearcats already lost their first string starting QB when Dustin Grutza broke his leg in the second game of the season against Oklahoma. Pike finished the game with 320 yards and the two scores to Gilyard. The Bearcats went on to win the game 17-15 thanks to a 48-yard field goal by Jake Rogers with 7:45 left in the game.

With Grutza out indefinitely (there is speculation that he could be back in time for the South Florida game on October 30th) and now Pike out for at least three to four weeks, the Bearcats are in a tough spot at the most important position on offense. Red shirt freshman, Zach Collaros, stepped in when Pike went down, but he, as I was told by an eye witness that was at the game, "he looked like a deer in headlights." Collaros went 1-for-4 for only two yards in his limited action. Not a great audition to be the go-to guy come the Bearcats next game.

So the question becomes, who will be the starter this Friday night when the team travels to play Marshall? The top three candidates are likely to be Collaros, fellow red shirt freshman Chazz Anderson, or Notre Dame transfer Demetrius Jones. I could see why Jones didn't take over wen Grutza went down with Pike having already been in the system and getting playing time last year, but why he wasn't the guy to come in Saturday was somewhat confusing. Maybe he's not ready? Maybe I'm missing something or haven't heard something related to his playing status? If he's ready, Jones has to be the guy that Brian Kelly goes with this week.

Its a short week for the Cats. Another out of conference loss before getting into conference play in a couple weeks could really hurt their chances of winning the Big East. Head coach Brian Kelly has a tough decision ahead of him. He's done well with the decisions he's made to this point (see his move of Conner Barwin from TE to DB), so whatever he decides, I'm good with it.

UPDATE: After listening to Brian Kelly on Lance McAlister's show last night, it sounds like they're going to go with a combo of Callaros and Anderson throughout the game this week against Marshall. When asked why he's not playing Jones, Kelly said it was because if they did, they would have to limit their playbook even more than they do with either of the other two options at QB. So the answer to why Jones isn't playing yet is simply because he can't pick up the playbook. Hopefully this isn't a sign of things to come for the guy that we all thought would be the guy behind center for the next few years. If it is, maybe Kelly should consider moving him to WR. He's got the talent...but apprently not the ability to retain what he needs...which is odd considering he started last year for Notre Dame. I can't imagine Kelly's playbook is more complex than Charlie Weis'...but then again maybe it is.

GetSportsRadio.com: Playoff Primer

Its October 1st. That means its playoff baseball time! It was a great season that saw the underdog become the big dog in the yard with the Tampa Bay Rays having their first winning season ever and taking the AL East away from the Red Sox and Yankees. I don't think there has ever been as much on the line in the last weekend of the season as there was this season.

Six teams (if you count the Arizona Diamondbacks) had their fates decided in just a few days. The Brewers squeaked in thanks to another meltdown by the New York Mets and their acquisition of CC Sabbathia. The Phillies were helped by the Mets’ collapse as well. The Rays won the AL East with just a few games to go. The Dodgers took the NL West thanks to the D-Backs struggling down the stretch as well and thanks to the addition of one named Manny Ramirez. Even the Cubs had to wait a little long than expected to lock down the NL Central after having dominated the division for most of the season. (If ever they were primed to end their 100 year championship drought, it would be this year.) The only team that had everything locked down and were on cruise control for that last month or so of the season were the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.
 
To add to the drama, we got an extra game last night to decide the winner of the AL Central when the Chicago White Sox and Minnesota Twins met in what turned out to be one of the best and most dramatic games of the season. So after a dramatic last couple days on the South side of Chicago, we’re finally ready to get the postseason started. Naturally that means its time to make picks.

AMERICAN LEAGUE

Divisional Series:
Red Sox over Angels
Rays over White Sox

League Championship Series:
Red Sox over Rays
 

NATIONAL LEAGUE
 
Divisional Series:
Cubs over Dodgers
Phillies over Brewers

League Championship Series
Cubs over Phillies

WORLD SERIES
Cubs over Red Sox in 6 games (in the highest TV ratings for the World Series ever!).

******
Yeah, I went chalk for the most part, and picked a series I would really like to see. At the same time I’d love to see the Rays make it. I’m not ruling it out because I truly think that could happen as well. Had to give the Cubs their due though, it has to be their time finally…right?

Through four weeks of the season I have picked 44 out of 59 (74.6%) possible winners, including my 11 for 13 effort last week in which I accumulated 75 out of a possible 91 points. Both of my Survivor picks would have kept you alive and the Panthers and Saints both rolled to victory. The Steelers ruined my perfect week, but the Titans delivered on my big bet and nailed my second 3-team parlay of the year.  Here's the picks for Week 5:

CONFIDENCE POOL	SURVIVOR PICK	AGAINST SPREAD
14. COWBOYS (vs Cin) 13. PANTHERS (vs. KC) 12. PACKERS (vs. Atl) 11. CHARGERS (@Mia) 10. BRONCOS (vs. TB) 9. TITANS (@Bal) 8. GIANTS (vs. Sea) 7. BILLS (@Ari) 6. SAINTS (vs. Min) 5. JAGUARS (vs. Pit) 4. REDSKINS (@Phi) 3. 49ERS (vs. NE) 2. LIONS (vs. Chi) 1. TEXANS (vs. Ind)	MY PICK: COWBOYS - It's almost like having a bye week in your Survivor pool. Carson's hurt, the Cowboys are coming off the loss and Marvin Lewis is laughing at his press conferences. OUT ON A LIMB: TITANS - For the lack of a true "sleeper option" this week, I will take the Titans on the road. Their physical D will be tough for the Ravens to handle on short rest.	Season Starting Balance: $500 Balance Heading Into Week: $664 $55 Broncos -3 $33 Redskins +6 $20 - 3 Team Parlay --Lions +3.5 --Texans +3 --49ers +3.5 *All lines from Caesar's Palace

Watching Al Davis' press conference when he announced that he had fired Lane Kiffin (over the phone mind you) and had him escorted out by security got me thinking. Who's the worst owner in the NFL? It has to come down to Al Davis or Mike Brown. So, let's compare the pros and cons of both guys.

Football knowledge: Al Davis has been involved in football forever. He was commissioner of the AFL and head coach of the LA Chargers in the AFL. The guy knows football. Mike Brown's father (Paul Brown) was one of the innovators of the sport and a true legend. Nobody can deny his dad's knowledge and legacy. But Mike is not a chip off the old block. Mike has proven not to know football, or at least the modern NFL, like his dad. Since his dad's passing, the Bengals have floundered, without a GM, and having only 1 playoff appearance. Advantage: Al Davis

Success: This one heavily favors Al Davis. Under Davis' ownership and leadership (he's functioned mostly without a GM and makes most decisions himself) the Raiders have won 13 division championships, three Super Bowls (XI, XV, & XVIII) and made 15 playoff appearances. Mike Brown, as mentioned, has guided the Bengals to one division championship and one playoff appearance (a loss). Advantage: Al Davis

Drive/Commitment to winning: The Raiders motto is Commitment to Excellence. They've shown that commitment in year's past with big money acquisitions and big player moves. The Bengals, under Mike Brown, seem content to field a "competitive" team. The Raiders have a significant amount of scouts and personnel talent. The Bengals have a guy and a rental car. Al Davis fires coaches and makes bizarre moves under the flag of trying to win. Mike Brown rarely talks of winning and has done nothing to show fans or the city that he truly cares about winning. Advantage: Al Davis.

Honor/Ethics: Finally a category Mike Brown can dominate. Despite the hatred the city has toward Brown, few can question that he's a good man. He is charitable and seems to treat his employees with a great deal of respect. Al Davis is considered by many to be unscrupulous. Watch Davis' handling of the Lane Kiffin firing and you'll see what an SOB he is. Al Davis is easily the biggest jerk amongst all the NFL owners. Advantage: Mike Brown

Commitment to the community/city: This category is a close one. Al Davis has moved the Raiders from LA to Oakland, back to LA and back to Oakland and has jerked the northern California area and fans around so many times that it's comical. Mike Brown threatened to move the team if he didn't get a new stadium. The taxpayers ponied up and built him a new stadium, a deal that favored him so much that he wouldn't even allow high school teams to play on the field or marching bands to perform at halftime (when they had grass). Brown really damaged his image as a miserly old coot when he threatened to move the team and then took advantage of the taxpayers. Advantage: Mike Brown, by a nose only because he never did move the team, while Davis did, more than once.

Long term vision/outlook: This one, again, could go either way. The Raiders have multiple owners and Al Davis is just the  President and General Partner of the ownership. If he ever stepped down or died, a new owner, not related to Davis could step in with a new vision for the Raiders. The Bengals, and all of their woeful, win-craved fans, have a bleak future. If something happens to Mike Brown, his daughter Katie Blackburn would likely assume the same role her father plays. Katie and her husband Troy already play key roles in the decision making. So, the black cloud of the Brown family will hang over Cincinnati for the unforeseeable future. Advantage: Al Davis

In summary, while Davis might be a jerk and an SOB, he has proven to be a winner who knows what he's doing. His fans are passionate and still support the team. They have had their ups and downs, but they're still one of the elite franchises in the NFL. The Bengals, meanwhile, under Mike Brown's reign have done nothing except compile the second worst record in the NFL. He has never shown a commitment to win, and has only shown a commitment to sell tickets. He has never hired a GM, has never hired enough scouts and doesn't splurge when it comes time to woo free agents (including flying people in coach). In short, Mike Brown is unequivocably the worst owner in the NFL and has put a dark cloud over the city and that doesn't seem like that will ever change.