The Brady Crunch

Honestly, I know it looked bad. I saw the knee buckle. But somehow, I didn't believe it was *that* bad. Maybe I just didn't want to believe it was that bad. On my Facebook status, I posted "hyperextension, not *super* serious" and I half-expected him to come trotting out after half-time, Paul Pierce Style, to lead the team to an inspirational victory.

[Heavy sigh.]

Matt Cassel is the man now -- for now. Meanwhile, the Pats need depth, and I find the list of possible additional QBs being discussed to be fairly comical. One TV commentator this AM was pretending to be Vinny Testaverte: "Don't answer that phone! I'm retired! Seriously!" The Globe's Chad Finn has picked up on the joke, too, adding Grogan's name to the ever growing list of geriatric signal-callers. OK, so Culpepper isn't *that* old, and I love Doug Flutie as much as anybody (or more) (probably more), but still.

Well, if we're going to throw around unlikely names, I've got one to add to the pile: Former UNH QB Ricky Santos. Although he's a few inches taller at 6'1", he's a Flutiesque Playmaker Extraordinaire who's gone to Canada to ply his trade. He won the Walter Payton Award for outstanding 1-AA player, just like UNH's own Jerry Azumah did, and Azumah went on to have a nice career with Da Bears. FYI, other Payton Award winners include names such as Westbrook, Megget, McNair, and Romo.

Now for something completely different: Let's introduce the Super Squirrels 2008 Edition!

Player, Team, Position, Draft Order

Week 1 Starters:

Kurt Warner, Ari QB (#3)
Earnest Graham, TB RB (Keeper)
DeAngelo Williams, Car RB (#2)
Anquan Boldin, Ari WR (Keeper)
Calvin Johnson, Det WR (#1)
Tony Gonzalez, KC TE (Keeper)
Brian Urlacher, Chi LB (Keeper)
Aaron Schobel, Buf DE (#7)
Pacman Jones, Dal CB (Waivers)
Jason Elam, Atl K (Keeper)

Week 1 Bench:

Willis McGahee, Bal RB (Keeper)
Eli Manning, NYG QB (Keeper)
Ellis Hobbs, NE CB (Keeper)
Donte' Stallworth, Cle WR (Keeper)
Reggie Williams, Jac WR (#4)
Aaron Rodgers, GB QB (#5)
Lofa Tatupu, Sea LB (#6)
Julian Peterson, Sea LB (#8)

We got to keep a starter for each position slot from last year, so the teams were already pretty well set. My draft strategy wasn't much of a strategy in that I've been focusing on winning the baseball championship so I didn't really do my homework. (I'm in 1st place in a 13-team league, so don't quibble with me!)

All that said, I knew Calvin Johnson, AKA Megatron, was put back in the pool by some poor fool, and I was damned if I was gonna let him get by my 1st round pick. I was very pleased to get him with the 4th pick overall in the 1st round, and my opponents comments let me know it was a good one with their grumbling and grousing in the chat room!

After that, I concentrated on getting the players I had last year that I wanted back, namely Kurt Warner, DeAngelo Williams (who I really like as a sleeper pick, BTW), and Reggie Williams.

Perhaps my most interesting pick came next, when I realized Brett Favre's heir apparent was still on the board. I like him a lot and I'd be surprised if I don't find a time to start Rodgers this season.

Because we give so many points to IDPs (tackles =1, sacks, INTs, passes defended, fumbles caused and recovered, etc.), LBs are more important in this league than you might think, so I spent my last few picks filling in the D. As a big Mosi Tatupu fan, I'm also a big Lofa Tatupu fan, and Peterson was simply to keep him away from somebody else.

And I added Schobel for the DL position because I expect the Bills to have a solid defense this year, but moreso because I knew it would make my upstate-NY-native girlfriend happy if I had a Buffalo Bill on the roster. (Yep, the smartest pick I made all day.) ;-)

Damn Yankees

The virtual ink was just drying on my post about my strict no-Yankees policy on my fantasy teams, when something ironic happened: Yankees GM Brian Cashman took a real-life interest in two of my Flyin' Squirrels, OF Xavier Nady and closer Damaso Marte, and put them in pinstripes. Now, this is a quandary. I do go out of my way to avoid acquiring Yankees for my fantasy teams, but what do I do when the Yankees acquire heretofore unspoilt players, like my poor unsuspecting former Pittsburgh Pirates?

Well, in Marte's case, it's simple. His value was as a closer, and I needed saves from him. But with that pesky #42 still occupying that role in the Bronx bullpen, my decision was made for me: Drop him. He has only the most minimal fantasy value at this point. I added back Okajima, who admittedly may not have much more value than Marte, but at least he's one of the good guys.

With Nady, it's not so cut-and-dried. Or is it? One of my best FA acquisitions of the season (I picked him up in week 1 after someone dropped him), I've grown accustomed to his face -- and his excellent production: 51 runs, 13 HRs, 57 RBI, .327 BA. But with his outstanding first half now in the bank, if you look at his averages and projections, I can really only expect 7 more HRs from him. He's not going to steal me any bases, which I desperately need. And his average can be expected to fall back toward the .280 area, and switching leagues isn't likely to help. Mr. Nady, as much as I've enjoyed having him as a Squirrel, will now become trade-bait in fantasyland, too.

It's 3AM. Do you know where your closer is?

Awoken at 3AM and not able to go back to sleep, I got up to check the late scores, and what to my bleary eyes did appear? News that a closer on both the teams I manage, Jon Rauch, had been dealt from Washington to Arizona! This is an unexpected and most unpleasant development. But the good news is, due to my insomnia, I was the early bird on this news. We knew Chad Cordero isn't coming through that door, and ESPN wasn't sure who the heir apparent to Rauch would be for the Nationals. But a report in the Washington Post indicated that Joel Hanrahan (I'll admit it, I had never heard of him, but then I'm an AL guy) would be the man. And OwnersEdge from Fanball had this to say about that:

With Jon Rauch traded to Arizona, Joel Hanrahan is likely to be the new closer in Washington. Hanrahan holds a 3.94 ERA, 1.33 WHIP and 9.9 K/9 rate on the year, but walks have been a problem (4.9 BB/9). Our View: Hanrahan has failed in his chances as a starter but has appeared to found his niche in the bullpen. He is a must-add in all formats.

So I added him for my ESPN league team and dropped Hiroki Kuroda, who I really like, but he got lit up in his last start and his next start is in Colorado, so his roster spot was dead to me for about 10 days. I hope to pick him up again when Kerry Wood returns from the DL, which will render my temporary saves-hunting pickup of Bobby Howry moot. In my Fanball league, saves are nowhere near as big of a deal, so closers remain on the waiver wire. I added Mike Gonzalez (who I also own on my ESPN team) to replace Rauch. Did you know Gonzalez has yet to walk a batter this year? 16 Ks, 12.2 IP, 0 walks.

Anyway, meet Joel Hanrahan, and wish him luck!

A-Rod Goes Deep, Wang Hurt

Ah, one of life's little joys is those unintentionally funny headlines that sometimes get past the editors and into print.

But it reminds me of Skwirl's Rules of Fantasy Baseball #1. I run my fantasy teams with the emphasis on fantasy, which means I generally field teams with players I, well, like. And let me tell ya Mac, as a loyal die-hard Red Sox fan, there are no A-Rods or Wangs on my teams. In fact, aside from a final day of the season when I held my nose and added Kyle Farnsworth in a desperate attempt for one last save, I have not sullied my fantasy teams with any NY Yankees. I field very competitive teams every year, and there are no Yankees in my fantasy midst!

Shaughnessy and me?

I don't agree with a sportwriting Chia-pet very often, if ever, but check this out.

In his Boston Globe article "History Derailed" (Feb 4, 2008), he wrote:

"The Patriots lost the Super Bowl. It is an alternate universe. It does not compute. It's like hearing Tony Bennett singing, "I Left My Heart in Ashtabula," or seeing a photo of Mitt Romney with his hair messed up."

Meanwhile, in my blog (Feb 4, 2008), I wrote:

"And I believe in 99 of 100 alternate realities, the Patriots did win. Why this particular scenario, a highly improbable 17-14 Giants win, had to occur in this reality is a question for the existentialists."

Spooky, right?

Just like Shaughnessy's hair and the Chia.

Official Review, Super Bowl Style

Well, I gotta admit, I'm still in a bit of shock. Not only did I believe the Patriots would win, but I expected them to clobber the Giants. And I believe in 99 of 100 alternate realities, the Patriots did win. Why this particular scenario, a highly improbable 17-14 Giants win, had to occur in this reality is a question for the existentialists. But with 3 Super Bowl trophies and 2 World Series trophies, and the longest undefeated season in NFL history, I find it hard to feel too badly about last night's Super Aberration. And let's face it, 18-1 isn't too shabby. As always, be sure to read Bill Simmons for the gist of how I feel. For help getting through the 5-steps, check out this funny article on ESPN.

Now, let's get to the Official Review. I don't believe the refs cost the Patriots the game -- Eli had that one insanely lucky pass, and obviously the Giants D-line manhandling of the Patriots O-line was the real problem -- but in a tight game, non-turnovers and penalties that affect field position might account for the 3 point deficit.

A reporter wrote in his blog for the SportingNews:

The NFL put together a supposedly all-star officiating team for the Super Bowl, but the officials already have blown three calls by my count. And it's not even halftime.

On New York's first possession of the second quarter, Eli Manning threw a pass that appeared to be in Plaxico Burress' possession before cornerback Ellis Hobbs III knocked the ball away. The Patriots scooped it up, but the refs whistled the play dead, ruling an incomplete pass.

On the very next play, Manning hurled a deep ball to Amani Toomer, who clearly jabbed his left hand into Hobbs' facemask to push him away before the receiver made a diving, 38-yard catch falling out of bounds at the Patriots 19.

(In a bit of karma, Hobbs picked off a deflected pass on third down to end the drive, preserving New England's 7-3 lead.)

Then, on New York's next possession, Ahmad Bradshaw botched a handoff from Manning and New England linebacker Pierre Woods fell on the ball. Patriots ball, right? Wrong. Bradshaw managed to sneak in, roll Woods over and steal away the ball. Inexplicably, the officials let New York keep it.

Come on, guys, this is the Super Bowl.

Let's tighten things up.

Blown calls go both ways, of course, and I did see one go for the Patriots. Very early on, Kevin Faulk was knocked down and more-or-less bounced past the 1st down marker. The refs gave a far-too-generous spot to Faulk -- they should have marked the ball at his impact site, not where he ended up -- and didn't even bring out the chains before awarding 1st and 10.

But the non-call on the offensive pass interference was egregious. And the non-fumble, when #58 (Woods, whoever he is, never seen him before) fell on and had the ball for like, what, 5 minutes or something ridiculous, and then "lost" the ball when he rolled over? That was simply outrageous. That's a change of possession, and at mid-field no less!

The other play that gives me pause is the Adalius Thomas stripping of Eli Manning. They called a penalty on the Giants for batting the ball forward, costing them 10 yards but keeping possession. I'd like to see this one replayed and explained to me.

Then there's Ben Watson's holding on the last drive of the half, wiping out a 15-yard run by Kevin Faulk. USA Today's Jarret Bell said: "It was hardly a blatant hold and appeared it could have been a non-call."

I've also heard people complain about a non-call of a roughing-the-passer on Brady, where somebody hit him in the head, but I didn't see it or simply don't recall the play.

Crew chief Mike Carey got high marks from some, and it was better officiated than many of the playoff games, but that's not saying much. Maybe Coach B, who brilliantly challenged that 12th man on the punt play, should've challenged a few more calls.

Benching Pats in the Blizzard

Well, I don't know about you, but I'm sitting here in Portsmouth NH looking out the window at this wicked Nor'Easter and thinking, "Yikes, I'm benching my Pats in fantasy football today." Of course for me, that only means Donte Stallworth, who I might've benched anyway since he's been eclipsed by Jabar Gaffney lately.

Maybe we'll get to see scenes like this one again today? God how I love snow games!

Oh, but I did also pick up Rodney Harrison based on his reemergence last week. He has always been a tackle-hound and a ball-hawk, and he's one Patriot I'm not benching. I'll play him in favor of Ellis Hobbs, who I still love, but without the kickoff return yardage, not so much. Anyway, I've got a hunch Harrison pops a ball loose and/or picks one up in the Winter Wonderland today.

Oh and speaking of HGH, let's talk briefly about...

The Mitchell Report

I always thought George Mitchell should've run for president. I have been a long-time fan of his politics, diplomacy, and grandfatherly/professorial demeanor. Despite all the obstacles he faced -- namely, hardly anybody would talk to him -- he put together a nice little report. The best part for me was his nailing of Fat Roger to the cross. When I heard he was a juicer, I was thrilled! Couldn't have happened to a nicer guy. Bill Simmons feels vindicated, at least as much as Dan Duquette does. (For a brilliant, blow-by-blow explanation of Red Sox Nation's loathing of our once-favorite son, check out this Simmons piece from 2001.) Anyway, Roger's juicing sure explains a lot, like how his body went from flabby to buff after he left Boston, and how his stats got *better* as he aged (see Bonds, Barry), and why he threw so many hissy-fits on the field (e.g., inexplicably throwing Piazza's broken bat back at him).

Also interesting were the memos from Theo and his staff on Gagne and Donnelly (they're Juice Guys) were reprinted here in the Globe.

And the other interesting thing I took from the whole Mitchell Report thing was how Jose Canseco, juicer-cum-whistleblower, reacted. (Canseco was the first to float Clemens name as a ragin'-'roider, by the way.) Canseco said he was "shocked" that A-Rod's name was not in the report. But really, Clemens AND A-Rod getting taken down in one fell-swoop?! Following a World Series victory, I'm not sure Red Sox Nation could handle that level of joy!