(First in what may prove to be a series on the math of fantasy sports. Disclaimer: I am not a statistician, so consider this to be on the level of a "Dummies" book.)

So you've made a deposit into Fantasy Sports Live. A question that may immediately come to mind is "how many contests should I play?"

Let me answer your question with a question: "How much risk are you comfortable with?"

Assume, first of all, that you have determined the amount that you're going to put in play for the day's set of contests (1). Let's say, for example, that you've decide that you're going to play $22 worth of football contests.

In that case, your choices are one $22 contest, two $11 contests or four $5.50 contests (yes, theoretically you could play twenty-two $1 contests, but let's be real here).

Next, assume that you have an edge and that edge is consistent. You're an educated fantasy football player, which gives you an edge of 55% to win, 45% to lose in any given contest. (2)

Third, assume that you play heads up contests. (3)

If you put your entire roll on one contest, you have a 55% chance of winning $40 (plus $18 net) and a 45% chance of losing $22 (minus $22 net).

If you decide to play two contests, you have a 30.25% chance of winning $40 (plus $18 net), a 49.50% chance of "winning" $20 (minus $2 net) and a 20.25% chance of losing $22 (minus $22 net).

If you play four contests, you have a 9.15% chance of winning $40 (plus $18 net), a 29.95% chance of winning $30 (plus $8 net), a 36.75% chance of "winning" $20 (minus $2 net), a 20.05% chance of "winning" $10 (minus $12 net) and a 4.10% chance of losing $22 (minus $22 net). (4)

We can draw two obvious conclusions from this very simplistic example:

1. When you spread your bankroll over more contests, your risk of ruin (losing it all) is reduced. In this example, you've 45% likely to "go broke" on 1 contest, only 4.1% likely if you play four.

2. Conversely, the more contests you play, the less likely it is that you will make the big score -- less than a 10% chance of coming out plus $18 over four contests vs. 55% in one.

Also (but not obvious, given the simplistic example), once you get beyond one contest, the more contests played - assuming the same edge - the greater the probability that you will turn a net profit.

The takeaway? If you're trying to build a bankroll in a hurry, you'd generally be better off playing fewer, higher buy in contests (IF you can maintain the same edge). If you're more concerned with going broke, spreading your buyin over more contests is the way to go.

More thoughts on this subject to come.


Notes:

(1) The portion of your "bankroll" that you should put into play in any given week is an entirely different subject, and one which I hope to touch on in another post.

(2) Maximizing your edge is also a subject for another post. This is groundwork right here. I realize that it's extremely simplistic to assume that your edge will always be the same - in the real world, it never is, in large part because you'll pretty much never be playing the same opponent with the same lineups.

(3) For the sake of simplicity. The math gets harder if we're talking 6 or 10 player contests.

(4) It may also be worth noting that in this example your expected value - expected return - in each case is exactly the same, $22. This is a function of both consistent assumptions and the proportionately identical 'rake' charged by the site.

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Yesterday, I was on my way out the door- to follow Heath around on his bike for what I knew would be an hour or so... so I grabbed a book, just a book I had picked up at Savers. It was laying on top of a stack of books by our entry... you know... nothing special.

It turned out to be The Witches by Roald Dahl and I have to tell you I AM IN LOVE! Roald Dahl wrote Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I've read a few of his other books, but this one... this one... I LOVE IT!

I am so tempted to volunteer and read this to my sons class in school. The beginning of the book there is "A Note about Witches". He explains that this is about REAL WITCHES not the silly ones in Fairy Tales... WITCHES that dress in ordinary clothes and live in ordinary houses and work ordinary jobs...., "She might even- and this will make you jump- she might even be your lovely school-teacher who is reading these words to you at this very moment...." wwwwhooooo

A tingle shot down my spine as I read.. this book is so scary in a giddy kind of way! It's about a boy who lives with his grandmother and she is teaching him how to spot a witch- for his own safety and protection. First published in 1983, I can just see this was the acceptable way to scare/teach your children not to wander off, not to take things from strangers... the WITCHES will get you! So before Goosebumps and such scary books... Roald Dahl was writing scare your pants off books! But it's silly too.

I haven't finished it yet.
But it's a page turner. I love the style of writing too-it really draws the reader into the story. We are apart of the story.
LOVE LOVE LOVE this book!
Laura
Great for Halloween .

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Sunday, August 03, 2008 5:43:15 PM Thank you for stopping by to laugh for the HEALTH of it in the Virtual Laughter Club It's Time To Laugh! I am thrilled that you added our show as a favorite and I gratefully accept your friendship request. I don't follow hockey well (which is crazy since we live in Canada and hockey is huge here!) but I will certainly be checking out your show anyway. I hope we get a chance to laugh together again soon.

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The thirteen actors depicted on the left represent thirteen teams that have a legitimate shot at making the Western Conference playoffs. That's right, the only teams I'm ruling out right now are the Los Angeles Kings, the Nashville Predators, and the St. Louis Blues. All of the other teams have a fairly decent shot at finishing in the top eight for one reason or another, but no team has more pressure to do that this season than the Chicago Blackhawks. Here's a team who will finally be showing all of their games on television (welcome to this century, Chicago fans), spend loads of money to sign Brian Campbell and Christobal Huet, have two of the most exciting young players in the game in Patrick Kane and Jonathon Toews, will be hosting the second annual Winter Classic against Detroit on New Year's Day, and has finally decided to waive Nikolai Khabibulin. There's plenty of promise in Chicago and just about everyone is predicting this team to finish well in 2009. The Central is no longer an easy division for the Red Wings and I think we'll get a glimpse of that over the next few months of hockey.

1. Detroit Red Wings
The Stanley Cup Champions didn't lose anybody important (au revoir Dominik Hasek), but instead, managed to rope in Marian Hossa, one of the premier offensive players in the NHL. The Wings are loaded on the back end with every-year Norris contender Nick Lidstrom and Brian Rafalski leading the way. Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk will lead an explosive offense.
Key Additions: Marian Hossa, Ty Conklin
Impact Player: Chris Osgood (Along with Franzen, he was the x-factor in last season's cup victory. Can he do it again?)

2. Dallas Stars
There was no one happier than Martin Brodeur when Sean Avery signed with the Stars during the offseason - unless you count the Stars themselves. Avery add to the already impressive depth on the Stars offensive unit which includes Brendan Morrow, Mike Ribeiro, Brad Richards, aging Mike Modano, Jere Lehtinen, and the biggest mystery in the NHL, Fabian Brunnstrom, who until he signed with Dallas, was considered the best player not in the NHL. In goal, Marty Turco will come back after a strong postseason and look to build on that success.
Key Additions: Sean Avery, Fabian Brunnstrom
Impact Player: Sergei Zubov (Will age finally catch up to him? Or does the veteran have one more great season in him?)

3. Colorado Avalanche
Call me tinted or call me dumb, but the Colorado Avalanche will win the Northwest Division for the first time since 2003-2004. You can find faults with any team in the NHL, but the Avs have one major selling point which people need to get excited about. Their top six defensemen are as solid as they come. Brett Clark, Ruslan Salei, John-Michael Liles, Scott Hannan, Jordan Leopold, and Adam Foote provide a steady, responsible crew. The biggest concern comes with Leopold, who has bones made of glass. If he can't stay healthy, the Avs will probably look to Daniel Tjarnqvist or Kyle Cumiskey to fill the void. Either way, this group should be able to limit the shots that Peter Budaj has to faced. Beyond the D, the offense still boasts several big names, including several pests - Darcy Tucker, Per Ledin, Ian Laperriere, Cody McLeod/McCormick, and Scott Parker. The Avs are certainly going to be a tough team to play against. Behind the bench, Tony Granato takes back his old job from "It's Time For A Line Change" Quenneville.
Key Additions: Per Ledin, Daniel Tjarnqvist, Darcy Tucker, Andrew Raycroft
Impact Player: Peter Budaj (This team is going to sink or swim with goaltending. Budaj's time is now or never.)

4. San Jose Sharks
It always seems like it's supposed to be "their year." Last year, the Sharks were the trendy pick to make the Stanley Cup heading into the postseason. Instead, they barely survived a first round matchup with the Flames and ended up losing to the Stars in the second round. This season, the Sharks return with a completely revamped defensive group. During the offseason, they traded Matt Carle and promising youngest Ty Wishart to the Lightning for superstar Dan Boyle and they signed ex-Av Rob Blake over from the Kings. After firing Ron Wilson, the Sharks were in the market for a coach and hired Detroit assistant Todd McClellan to the position. It will be McClellan's first gig behind an NHL bench as a head coach.
Key Additions: Rob Blake, Dan Boyle
Impact Player: Patrick Marleau (The captain can't afford another terrible season. It's time to sink-or-swim.)

5. Chicago Blackhawks
Finally, their wait is over. The Blackhawks are going back to the postseason. The Hawks have plenty of talent, plenty of heart, and plenty of excitement to make this season a memorable one. The biggest question will come on defense where the Hawks are very weak. Brian Campbell isn't exactly a great defensive player (ok, I'd rather have Greg de Vries if we were talking purely about defense) and Brent Seabrook, Duncan Keith, and Cam Barker are still very young. Though, with all of the talent on the front end supporting Kane and Toews (Sharp, Havlat, Byfuglien, Ladd, Skille, and heck, add Campbell in there, too) the Hawks will have an impressive season.
Key Additions: Brian Campbell, Christobal Huet
Impact Player: Patrick Sharp (Sharp surprised a lot of people last season. With all of these young players needing to step up, Sharp is one of the experienced guys who will be looked to in the early-going)

6. Anaheim Ducks
The Ducks have had some troubles prior to the 08-09 season. Trying to sign Teemu Selanne has been harder than they originally thought and as I type this, they still don't have enough room to maneuver under the Cap. One has to wonder if Brian Burke is starting to think about leaving Anaheim after his contract expires this season bolting to, I don't know, Toronto? Regardless, the Ducks are not the same team that one the Cup a couple of seasons ago. The names are somewhat the same. Corey Perry, Ryan Getzlaf, and Teemu will lead the offensive with Chris Pronger and Scott Neidermeyer in the backend. JS Giguere is still in goal and Randy Carlyle is still behind the bench. It's just, the Ducks didn't seem to have that same edge last season as they had in the past and I think it might carry over. The depth isn't what it used to be and the Ducks didn't do anything to improve last season's team unless you count the signeds of Brendan Morrison and Steve Montador. Factor that in with the incredible toughness of the Pacific, and the Ducks will struggle throughout.
Key Addition: Brendan Morrison
Impact Player: Corey Perry (If Getzlaf struggles, Perry is the go-to guy)

7. Calgary Flames
Todd Bertuzzi? Ugh. Mike Keenan? Ugh. Dion Phaneuf? Ugh. This team is absolutely disgusting. They'll make the playoffs thanks to Kipper, but don't expect me to like it. I am, afterall, an Avs fan. The Flames did well to get rid of Tanguay and replace him with a cheaper version of himself in Mike Cammalleri. Also, Jarome Iginla is still, without a doubt, the top right winger in the game. That, and the fact that Kipprusoff will be motivated to end the doubts that he is no longer a Vezina-quality goaltender, will be enough to get the Flames into the 7th spot.
Key Additions: Mike Cammalleri, Todd Bertuzzi
Impact Player: Todd Bertuzzi (Does he prove that he's no longer a waste of space?)

8. Edmonton Oilers
The Oilers got rid of some dead weight by trading Joni Pitkanen for Eric Cole and subsequently signing Lubomir Visnovsky to fill the void. The Oilers also went out and acquired once-considered-gem Gilbert Brule from the Blue Jackets. Brule was supposed to become a star in the NHL but he could never really find his footing in Columbus. If some of his potential starts to come out, the Oilers will have a special player. However, the Oilers already have a couple of special players on their side. Sam Gagner and Alex Hemsky lead the offense along with captain Shawn Horcoff. Last season, Gagner recorded the fifth most points in one season as an Oilers rookie, ranking behind Jari Kurri, Jason Arnott, Dave Lumley, and Glenn Anderson. That's some pretty good company. The Oilers were hot at the end of last season and should be able to find some consistency in '09.
Key Additions: Eric Cole, Lubomir Visnovsky, Gilbert Brule
Impact Player: Tom Gilbert (With the inconsistency of Sheldon Souray, Gilbert needs to provide a lot on the blueline.)

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

9. Phoenix Coyotes
Peter Mueller, Shane Doan, and Ilya Bryzgalov will make great attempt at getting the Yotes into the top eight but I think they'll fall just short. Look for this team to be a contender in 2010.

10. Minnesota Wild
Brian Rolston is gone and it'll be interesting to see how Andrew Brunette performs in a similar role. The defending Northwest champs didn't do enough to stay ahead of the Avs, Flames, and Oilers.

11. Columbus Blue Jackets
They've made some significant moves by drafting Nikita Filatov, signing Kristian Huselius, and trading for Raffi Torres, but RJ Umberger is not the #1 center they needed to play with Rick Nash.

12. Nashville Predators
I'm not sold on Dan Ellis and the Predators haven't sold many tickets in their years in Nashville.

13. Los Angeles Kings
Allow the youth movement to commence! Here's to Fukufugi making another start!

14. Vancouver Canucks
Who is going to score if one of the Sedins get injured? Certainly not Mats Sundin.

15. St. Louis Blues
Erik Johnson is injured and Paul Kariya isn't in his prime.

Western Conference Champion - Detroit Red Wings
It's not my fault that they're this good. If you're thinking about a Stanley Cup hangover, just remember that Marian Hossa has yet to win one.

Coming up, my Stanley Cup prediction.

Similar posts: fantasy hockey

October
1 Hockey Fights Cancer Awareness Month

4-5 NHL Premiere Stockholm 2008 (Ottawa Senators vs. Pittsburgh Penguins)
4-5 NHL Premiere Prague 2008 (New York Rangers, vs. Tampa Bay Lightning)

9 2008-09 NHL Regular Season begins (North American games)

22 Lester Patrick Award luncheon (St. Paul, MN)

November
8 Hockey Hall of Fame Game (Montreal Canadiens at Toronto Maple Leafs)

10 Hockey Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony (Toronto, ON)
Inductees: Glenn Anderson, Igor Larionov (Player category), Ed Chynoweth
(Builder category), Ray Scapinello (Referee/Linesman category)

December
1 Signing deadline for Group 2 free agents

19-27 Holiday Roster Freeze in effect. For all players on an NHL active roster, injured reserve, or players with non-roster and injured non-roster status as of midnight, local time, December 19, a roster freeze shall apply through midnight local time December 27, with respect to
waivers, trades and loans, subject to the exceptions provided for in CBA Article 16.10.

24-25 No scheduled practices - dressing rooms closed

26 Jan.5 IIHF World U20 Championship (Ottawa, ON)

January
1 NHL Winter Classic 2009, Wrigley Field, Chicago (Detroit Red Wings at Chicago
Blackhawks)

14 Home Hardware CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game (TBA)

18 NHL on NBC (game of the week coverage begins)

22-26 All-Star break (no games played)

24 NHL SuperSkills Competition (Bell Centre, Montreal, QC)

25 57th NHL All-Star Game (Bell Centre)

February
13-15 Hockey Weekend Across America (USA Hockey)

21 CBCs Hockey Day in Canada (hosted from Campbellton, NB)

March
3 Trade deadline (3 p.m. ET)

April
9-11 NCAA Frozen Four (Verizon Center, Washington, DC)

9-19 IIHF U18 World Championship (Fargo, ND Moorhead, MN)

12 Last day of 2008-09 regular season

15 Stanley Cup Playoffs begin

24 May 10 IIHF World Championship (Berne Zurich-Kloten, Switzerland)

May
25 30 NHL Combine (Toronto, ON)

June
15 Last possible day for 2009 Stanley Cup Final

TBA Deadline for first club-elected salary arbitration (later of June 15 or 48 hours after
the conclusion of the Stanley Cup Final, 5:00 p.m. ET)

TBA NHL Awards show

25 NHL Entry Draft Media Day - Top Prospects Media Lunch Clinic (Montreal, QC)

26 NHL Entry Draft (Bell Centre, Montreal, QC) first round

27 NHL Entry Draft (Bell Centre) rounds 2-7

July
1 Free Agency period begins

5 Deadline for player-elected salary arbitration (5:00 p.m. ET)

6 Deadline for club-elected salary arbitration (5:00 p.m. ET)

10 Deadline for eligible players to elect Group 5 free agency (5:00 p.m. ET)

20 Aug.

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The thirteen actors depicted on the left represent thirteen teams that have a legitimate shot at making the Western Conference playoffs. That's right, the only teams I'm ruling out right now are the Los Angeles Kings, the Nashville Predators, and the St. Louis Blues. All of the other teams have a fairly decent shot at finishing in the top eight for one reason or another, but no team has more pressure to do that this season than the Chicago Blackhawks. Here's a team who will finally be showing all of their games on television (welcome to this century, Chicago fans), spend loads of money to sign Brian Campbell and Christobal Huet, have two of the most exciting young players in the game in Patrick Kane and Jonathon Toews, will be hosting the second annual Winter Classic against Detroit on New Year's Day, and has finally decided to waive Nikolai Khabibulin. There's plenty of promise in Chicago and just about everyone is predicting this team to finish well in 2009. The Central is no longer an easy division for the Red Wings and I think we'll get a glimpse of that over the next few months of hockey.

1. Detroit Red Wings
The Stanley Cup Champions didn't lose anybody important (au revoir Dominik Hasek), but instead, managed to rope in Marian Hossa, one of the premier offensive players in the NHL. The Wings are loaded on the back end with every-year Norris contender Nick Lidstrom and Brian Rafalski leading the way. Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk will lead an explosive offense.
Key Additions: Marian Hossa, Ty Conklin
Impact Player: Chris Osgood (Along with Franzen, he was the x-factor in last season's cup victory. Can he do it again?)

2. Dallas Stars
There was no one happier than Martin Brodeur when Sean Avery signed with the Stars during the offseason - unless you count the Stars themselves. Avery add to the already impressive depth on the Stars offensive unit which includes Brendan Morrow, Mike Ribeiro, Brad Richards, aging Mike Modano, Jere Lehtinen, and the biggest mystery in the NHL, Fabian Brunnstrom, who until he signed with Dallas, was considered the best player not in the NHL. In goal, Marty Turco will come back after a strong postseason and look to build on that success.
Key Additions: Sean Avery, Fabian Brunnstrom
Impact Player: Sergei Zubov (Will age finally catch up to him? Or does the veteran have one more great season in him?)

3. Colorado Avalanche
Call me tinted or call me dumb, but the Colorado Avalanche will win the Northwest Division for the first time since 2003-2004. You can find faults with any team in the NHL, but the Avs have one major selling point which people need to get excited about. Their top six defensemen are as solid as they come. Brett Clark, Ruslan Salei, John-Michael Liles, Scott Hannan, Jordan Leopold, and Adam Foote provide a steady, responsible crew. The biggest concern comes with Leopold, who has bones made of glass. If he can't stay healthy, the Avs will probably look to Daniel Tjarnqvist or Kyle Cumiskey to fill the void. Either way, this group should be able to limit the shots that Peter Budaj has to faced. Beyond the D, the offense still boasts several big names, including several pests - Darcy Tucker, Per Ledin, Ian Laperriere, Cody McLeod/McCormick, and Scott Parker. The Avs are certainly going to be a tough team to play against. Behind the bench, Tony Granato takes back his old job from "It's Time For A Line Change" Quenneville.
Key Additions: Per Ledin, Daniel Tjarnqvist, Darcy Tucker, Andrew Raycroft
Impact Player: Peter Budaj (This team is going to sink or swim with goaltending. Budaj's time is now or never.)

4. San Jose Sharks
It always seems like it's supposed to be "their year." Last year, the Sharks were the trendy pick to make the Stanley Cup heading into the postseason. Instead, they barely survived a first round matchup with the Flames and ended up losing to the Stars in the second round. This season, the Sharks return with a completely revamped defensive group. During the offseason, they traded Matt Carle and promising youngest Ty Wishart to the Lightning for superstar Dan Boyle and they signed ex-Av Rob Blake over from the Kings. After firing Ron Wilson, the Sharks were in the market for a coach and hired Detroit assistant Todd McClellan to the position. It will be McClellan's first gig behind an NHL bench as a head coach.
Key Additions: Rob Blake, Dan Boyle
Impact Player: Patrick Marleau (The captain can't afford another terrible season. It's time to sink-or-swim.)

5. Chicago Blackhawks
Finally, their wait is over. The Blackhawks are going back to the postseason. The Hawks have plenty of talent, plenty of heart, and plenty of excitement to make this season a memorable one. The biggest question will come on defense where the Hawks are very weak. Brian Campbell isn't exactly a great defensive player (ok, I'd rather have Greg de Vries if we were talking purely about defense) and Brent Seabrook, Duncan Keith, and Cam Barker are still very young. Though, with all of the talent on the front end supporting Kane and Toews (Sharp, Havlat, Byfuglien, Ladd, Skille, and heck, add Campbell in there, too) the Hawks will have an impressive season.
Key Additions: Brian Campbell, Christobal Huet
Impact Player: Patrick Sharp (Sharp surprised a lot of people last season. With all of these young players needing to step up, Sharp is one of the experienced guys who will be looked to in the early-going)

6. Anaheim Ducks
The Ducks have had some troubles prior to the 08-09 season. Trying to sign Teemu Selanne has been harder than they originally thought and as I type this, they still don't have enough room to maneuver under the Cap. One has to wonder if Brian Burke is starting to think about leaving Anaheim after his contract expires this season bolting to, I don't know, Toronto? Regardless, the Ducks are not the same team that one the Cup a couple of seasons ago. The names are somewhat the same. Corey Perry, Ryan Getzlaf, and Teemu will lead the offensive with Chris Pronger and Scott Neidermeyer in the backend. JS Giguere is still in goal and Randy Carlyle is still behind the bench. It's just, the Ducks didn't seem to have that same edge last season as they had in the past and I think it might carry over. The depth isn't what it used to be and the Ducks didn't do anything to improve last season's team unless you count the signeds of Brendan Morrison and Steve Montador. Factor that in with the incredible toughness of the Pacific, and the Ducks will struggle throughout.
Key Addition: Brendan Morrison
Impact Player: Corey Perry (If Getzlaf struggles, Perry is the go-to guy)

7. Calgary Flames
Todd Bertuzzi? Ugh. Mike Keenan? Ugh. Dion Phaneuf? Ugh. This team is absolutely disgusting. They'll make the playoffs thanks to Kipper, but don't expect me to like it. I am, afterall, an Avs fan. The Flames did well to get rid of Tanguay and replace him with a cheaper version of himself in Mike Cammalleri. Also, Jarome Iginla is still, without a doubt, the top right winger in the game. That, and the fact that Kipprusoff will be motivated to end the doubts that he is no longer a Vezina-quality goaltender, will be enough to get the Flames into the 7th spot.
Key Additions: Mike Cammalleri, Todd Bertuzzi
Impact Player: Todd Bertuzzi (Does he prove that he's no longer a waste of space?)

8. Edmonton Oilers
The Oilers got rid of some dead weight by trading Joni Pitkanen for Eric Cole and subsequently signing Lubomir Visnovsky to fill the void. The Oilers also went out and acquired once-considered-gem Gilbert Brule from the Blue Jackets. Brule was supposed to become a star in the NHL but he could never really find his footing in Columbus. If some of his potential starts to come out, the Oilers will have a special player. However, the Oilers already have a couple of special players on their side. Sam Gagner and Alex Hemsky lead the offense along with captain Shawn Horcoff. Last season, Gagner recorded the fifth most points in one season as an Oilers rookie, ranking behind Jari Kurri, Jason Arnott, Dave Lumley, and Glenn Anderson. That's some pretty good company. The Oilers were hot at the end of last season and should be able to find some consistency in '09.
Key Additions: Eric Cole, Lubomir Visnovsky, Gilbert Brule
Impact Player: Tom Gilbert (With the inconsistency of Sheldon Souray, Gilbert needs to provide a lot on the blueline.)

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

9. Phoenix Coyotes
Peter Mueller, Shane Doan, and Ilya Bryzgalov will make great attempt at getting the Yotes into the top eight but I think they'll fall just short. Look for this team to be a contender in 2010.

10. Minnesota Wild
Brian Rolston is gone and it'll be interesting to see how Andrew Brunette performs in a similar role. The defending Northwest champs didn't do enough to stay ahead of the Avs, Flames, and Oilers.

11. Columbus Blue Jackets
They've made some significant moves by drafting Nikita Filatov, signing Kristian Huselius, and trading for Raffi Torres, but RJ Umberger is not the #1 center they needed to play with Rick Nash.

12. Nashville Predators
I'm not sold on Dan Ellis and the Predators haven't sold many tickets in their years in Nashville.

13. Los Angeles Kings
Allow the youth movement to commence! Here's to Fukufugi making another start!

14. Vancouver Canucks
Who is going to score if one of the Sedins get injured? Certainly not Mats Sundin.

15. St. Louis Blues
Erik Johnson is injured and Paul Kariya isn't in his prime.

Western Conference Champion - Detroit Red Wings
It's not my fault that they're this good. If you're thinking about a Stanley Cup hangover, just remember that Marian Hossa has yet to win one.

Coming up, my Stanley Cup prediction.

Similar posts: fantasy hockey

The Eagles were unable to capitalize on four consecutive plays inside the Bears five to secure the win, which had everybody in Philadelphia ready to burn Big Red at the stake and pull a Garrett Reid to numb the pain. Well, everybody except me. You know why the Birds couldnt get in the endzone there? s because their best option is running their pro bowl tailback right over the back of their pro bowl right guard. When neither of them are playing, that play doesnt work. And I dont care how unpopular an opinion this is: Andy Reid was right not to risk the health of his pro bowl quarterback running a sneak in the forth game of the season. The Eagles are really good - they played poorly in part because it was a trap game, in part because the field was miserable (a point no one is talking about there were like half a dozen slips in the game, how do they not point that out after the DeSean muff?), and in part because arguably their two best offensive players werent on the field. They have the Redskins next week then a cake walk after the break. The world moves forward I promise.
The Game:The Birds lost 24-20. It was an ugly, sloppy game on both sides. The defense continued to swarm, but getting picked apart by Kyle Orton for an entire half is never good for confidence.
The Goat:Quintin Mikell got abused on the Bears second TD pass of the game, David Akers missed two field goals, and DeSean Jackson continued to be a fantastically talented rookie.
The Race:The Birds fell to 2-2, good for last in the stacked NFC East.

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It wasn't that long ago when you could build your entire fantasy hockey team around players on the Avs. Forsberg, Sakic, Blake, Bourque, Drury, Tanguay, Hejduk, etc. Now, however, it's unlikely any Av will go very high in any fantasy hockey draft.

That being said, here are five Avs who shouldn't be underrated in your fantasy drafts:

Paul Stastny - Center
Key Stat: 1.0 PPG in his career.

In what could be considered a sad season for the Avalanche last year, Stastny was one of the few bright spots. Despite missing around 16 games, the sophomore still put up 71 points including 24 goals. This season, assuming he stays healthy, expect Stastny to hit 30 goals for the first time in his career and to be an 80+ point player.

Milan Hejduk - Right Winger
Key Stat: Has never gone two straight seasons with fewer than 70 points

Milan Hejduk may go down as one the streakiest players in NHL history. Look at his career point totals starting in the 98-99 season:

48, 72, 79, 44, 98, 75, 58, 70, 54

He's getting up there in age, but there's no denying the trend. Once Hejduk has one bad season, he's going to have a good one immediately after. He's played fewer than 74 games just once in his career (01-02) and has played 80+ games in six of his nine seasons. He's a former fifty-goal scorer and even though he had an off-year last year, he still managed to put up 29. Expect Hejduk to register at least 65+ points and to be in the 25-35 goal range.

Ryan Smyth - Left Wing
Key Stat: Averaged fewer than 59 GP in his last two seasons.

Ryan Smyth's first year in Denver wasn't what anybody had expected. "Captain Canada" was injured for much of the year (along with everyone else) and had just 37 points (14 goals) in 55 games. There is reason to believe that Smyth will improve on those numbers this year. With Coach Q out and newly-hired, formerly demoted Coach Granato in, the Avalanche offense should be opened up a bit more and Smyth should have more chances to shine. Hopefully, Granato understands that Smyth's place isn't behind the net, but in front of it. With Ruslan Salei and John-Michael Liles as the best offensive threats on D, it could be a struggle to get shots on net for Smyth to work with. With a season of 60-70 games, Smyth should be able to put up around 20-25 goals and anywhere from 55-65 points.

John-Michael Liles -Defenseman
Key Stat: Five points in ten playoff games last season

Liles has seen his point total drop in each of the past three seasons and last year he scored just six goals. However, after the trade deadline, Liles improved dramatically on the Avalanche blueline and he really picked up his game on both ends of the ice. Liles shouldn't be a #1 or #2 defenseman on your fantasy team, but he might be a nice sleeper pick as a #3 or #4. This season, if he's playing with Scott Hannan or Adam Foote and is allowed to carry the puck up ice and control the power play, Liles could go over the 15-goal mark and top 40 points.

Joe Sakic - Center
Key Stat: A lock for the HOF and this is possibly his last season

We all knew Sakic wasn't coming back unless he felt he could 100% compete. And ultimately, he made the decision to return to the Avs for a 20th season. Even though he missed almost half the season, Sakic put up 40 points in 44 games and put up 10 points in 10 games during the playoffs. We saw Sakic slide a bit down the totem pole of NHL centers, but if he's health, you can't underestimate what he brings to the table. He's still the undisputed leader of the Avalanche and with teams having to worry about Paul Stastny, Sakic might not be seeing every team's #1 center this year. In what could be his final campaign, I expect a season of 70-85 points and a lot more if he can stay completely healthy.

Honorable Mention:
Tyler Arnason
Just Kidding

I'm no fantasy expert. What are your opinions on the Avs in regards to making a fantasy impact this season.

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Pittsburgh Penguins
Where else to lead off but with the defending Eastern Conference champs, the fuel for a lot of debate during the summer. The debate has been beaten into the ground about as bad as the Bulgarian women's hockey team (Ba-dum-bum. Thank you, thank you! I'll be here all week!), so I won't bother to bore you with it. There's no reason to go over all of that again. Instead, please accept the following as consolation.
What's New: New deals for Therien, Fleury and Malkin. Mass exodus to Florida (Roberts, Malone, Hall). Picked up New York's trash (Satan, Fedotenko). Also added Matt Cooke. That Hossa guy left, but he wasn't in town for very long.

Questions that Need Answering: Can they repeat last year even with a different set of mid-level and role players? Is Malkin recovered from his playoff cold streak? Can MAF have another stellar year? Will everyone finally realize that Hossa was not important to the regular season success of this team last year.

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The NHL tomorrow will release a public beta of its dramatically redesigned NHL.com, the second part of a major two-step digital reworking that began in April with the NHL Network Online video portal. The new site, marking the second major revamp of NHL.com since '06, involved a 10-month development effort overseen by a large collection of league personnel led by John Collins, Andre Mika, Larry Gelfand and Perry Cooper; California-based interactive marketing firm AKQA; and NeuLion. The new look, utilizing a darker motif dubbed black ice, employs a predictably heavy use of video content, Getty still photos, and user-generated content. Navigation and search functions were completely rebuilt, and NHL executives are also vowing a more assertive editorial voice. This is such a big change, a massive change really, said Mika, NHL VP/Broadband New Media. The video content we began with in the spring was the start our actually programming to our fans. This is the next huge step where weve got a full destination hockey fans will feel theyre going to get a lot out of it. Other areas greatly expanded in the new site include historical data and statistics, much of which has been tagged with relevant video, and fantasy content in part through a new deal with Yahoo Sports.
Sports Business Daily

The National Hockey League sees the new service, called GameCenter Live, as a way to serve its young, tech-savvy fans, many of whom don't live in the hometown of their favorite hockey team, and can't catch its games on television. The league plans to charge online subscribers a relatively steep $169 a season year for the streaming-video service. League executives say they can justify that price because of the large number of out-of-town fans who follow its teams and are desperate for the chance to watch their favorites play.

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Hello again and welcome to part five of The Power Play's 2008-09 Season Preview! Today we'll be taking a look at the Top Netminders for the upcoming season.

A good goalie is a key ingredient for any winning team. The same goes for your fantasy hockey team too. Wait too long to draft a solid tender and you could be out of luck. Then you'll be forced to work a deal with one of your buddies who knows your team is screwed in net and is going to try and rip you off in every trade you make. Not that I'm bitter or anything.

So without further adieu, here are the Top Netminders for the 2008-09 season...

Marty Turco, Dallas Stars
2008-09 Projection: 68GP, 39W, 4SO, 2.39GAA, .912SV%
I know a lot of people will be tempted to take Roberto Luongo first over all in their drafts because he's solid in net. Don't. Why? As great as Bobby Lu is, he has such a weak offensive team in front of him. One goal could make the difference for the Canucks and I see them losing a lot of 1-0 games. Turco on the other hand is a tour de force year after year for the Stars, and when you combine that with a solid team in front of him, he should be racking up the wins like it's nobody's bidness. Yeah, I said bidness.

Marc-Andre Fleury, Pittsburgh Penguins
2008-09 Projection: 65GP, 37W, 4SO, 2.36GAA, .916SV%
Fleury could be a bit of a question mark and a risk if you draft him. Will he stay healthy and will his white pads continue to make the difference? If that happens then he should be a lock in net.

Evgeni Nabokov, San Jose Sharks
2008-09 Projection: 67GP, 36W, 4SO, 2.24GAA, .907SV%
For consecutive seasons Nabokov has been a solid goalie for the Sharks and that should continue into this year. Though he is playing on a team that lost their very defensive minded coach in Ron Wilson, so there could be a few times when Nabokov lets one in because the defense made a mistake.

Henrik Lundqvist, New York Rangers
2008-09 Projection: 73GP, 35W, 7SO, 2.34GAA, .916SV%
This guy is a work horse in net for the Blueshirts. He could play the more games than any other goalie in the NHL but it doesn't seem to matter to him. He doesn't get tired, doesn't get out of position and night in and night out puts in a show stopping performance in net. He will be the reason why the Rangers win a lot of games.

Carey Price, Montreal Canadiens
2008-09 Projection: 59GP, 34W, 5SO, 2.42GAA, .917SV%
The Price is Right in Montreal this season as the young goalie has the chance to prove that he's the real deal. In the off season he lost a lot of weight to improve his lateral side to side movement and you know he's going to come out like gang busters to prove last year's playoffs were just a fluke.

The other goalies rounding out the top 10 are...
Martin Brodeur, New Jersey Devils: 75GP, 34W, 5SO, 2.28GAA, .918SV%
Mikka Kiprusoff, Calgary Flames: 69GP, 34W, 3SO, 2.50GAA, .909SV%
Roberto Luongo, Vancouver Canucks: 74GP, 33W, 4SO, 2.21GAA, .921SV%
J.S. Giguere, Anaheim Ducks: 54GP, 32W, 5SO, 2.03GAA, .925SV%
Chris Osgood, Detroit Red Wings: 53GP, 32W, 5SO, 2.22GAA, .907SV%

There you are Power Players, those are the projected Top Netminders for 2008-09. Go forth and draft your fantasy team with confidence! Also make sure to check in with The Power Play tomorrow as the season preview continues when we'll be taking a look at the Top 10 games to watch this year! As if you needed a list like that as an excuse to watch even more hockey.

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Greg Wyshynski. Shynner (as no one calls him) has done it all from writing a fantastic collection of essays to what he does now for Yahoo-- everything in-between is a blur, but it will more than likely come out in some kind of drunken rambling.

After wheeling and dealing with his people, I was able to do a little dialogue with Mr. Wyshynski from his plush NoVA (Northern Virginia for those not in the loop) grotto. I, sadly, was still in Calgary.

And yes, I had to use one of the most awkward-looking pictures of Greg out there.

SW: First Greg, thanks for taking the time out to do this.

GW: Well, youve caught me at a good time, having just completed a 50-foot mural of Michael Phelps in my rec room. I used Gatorade-colored paint and gelt for the gold medals.

SW: As you have mentioned a number of times, youre a Devils fan. When you go to a game, do you go full David Puddy for it or are you a little more laid back??

GW: I dont go the full David Puddy, because Im not a face-painter. I painted my face once for a basketball game while attending the University of Maryland, and I got a nosebleed. I have no idea if one had to do with the other; but its sort of like when you go to a restaurant and end up with massive diarrhea afterwards -- why chance another trip to the well??

Im embarrassingly vocal at games. Its my goal to make the person in the row in front of me laugh at least once, usually at an inappropriate joke about one of my own players. I also try to start chants. Here in D.C., Im legend for being the guy who screams out crap on the escalator after the game. Mostly because, at that point, its the Smithwick's talking.

SW: What is it with the Devils not getting any respect in their own state?? I mean, South Jersey fans are usually Flyers fans, Northern Jersey goes with NYC, and the Central folks seem to care less. Why are people so down on this team??

GW: First off, Central Jersey represent: We care about a lot of things. Jovi tickets, shore traffic, the mall closest to a White Castle. All of it.

One aspect to the Devils problems is that buffet of other sports options. The Devils arent just competing with three other hockey teams; theyre competing against all of New Yorks teams and all of Phillys teams for attention, too.

I think the new arena will help, because its finally a destination worthy of a pro team. Its just a matter of adding some basic elements around the place. Like a good bar or two.

In the end, the Devils only have themselves to blame, because marketing was a foreign concept for that franchise for decades. Theres a distance between Devils fans and that team that doesnt exist for Islanders fans or for Capitals fans. They dont feel like part of the community. Its Lou Lamoriellos fault, because he created so many barriers for fans and for the media. But hes also the reason the team has three Stanley Cups, so its hard to argue with that approach.

SW: Switching gears to the internet; with all the blogs and podcasts pertaining to hockey, is it safe to say that hockey fans are the most tech savvy??

GW: Theres no question hockey fans are the most tech savvy. Were also the smartest fans, because you need a degree from M.I.T. to figure out the 27 columns in the NHL standings. Wins and losses?? Thats for morons. Make mine overtime defeat points!

Hockey fans also have the ability to edit together highlights, set them to a System of a Down song and put it on YouTube. Lets see a golf fan do that.

SW: As a follow up, do you think that fans in the states almost have to rely on the internet due to possible lack of coverage by national outlets??

GW: Yes, but not strictly in a blogging way. The Canadian newspapers and sites like TSN drive the narrative as much as any blog does, so for U.S. fans to have access to that is critical.

I worked for a newspaper for nearly a decade. It sucks to see that medium struggle, because it gave me everything I have (because I gave it everything I had). But part of that struggle comes from a misunderstanding of their audience. Im sorry, but if the Washington Post stops covering the Stanley Cup playoffs with a reporter after the Capitals are eliminated, thats not serving its audience. Thats serving its editors interests, of which hockey is not a primary one. And readers are like, I really dont care about what youre giving me, so Ill be leaving for the summer. And then the paper shrinks.

SW: Speaking of internet blogs, it seems that the Puck Daddy portion on Yahoo has been a rousing success. Whats in store for the season ahead?.

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Greg Wyshynski. Shynner (as no one calls him) has done it all from writing a fantastic collection of essays to what he does now for Yahoo-- everything in-between is a blur, but it will more than likely come out in some kind of drunken rambling.

After wheeling and dealing with his people, I was able to do a little dialogue with Mr. Wyshynski from his plush NoVA (Northern Virginia for those not in the loop) grotto. I, sadly, was still in Calgary.

And yes, I had to use one of the most awkward-looking pictures of Greg out there.

SW: First Greg, thanks for taking the time out to do this.

GW: Well, youve caught me at a good time, having just completed a 50-foot mural of Michael Phelps in my rec room. I used Gatorade-colored paint and gelt for the gold medals.

SW: As you have mentioned a number of times, youre a Devils fan. When you go to a game, do you go full David Puddy for it or are you a little more laid back??

GW: I dont go the full David Puddy, because Im not a face-painter. I painted my face once for a basketball game while attending the University of Maryland, and I got a nosebleed. I have no idea if one had to do with the other; but its sort of like when you go to a restaurant and end up with massive diarrhea afterwards -- why chance another trip to the well??

Im embarrassingly vocal at games. Its my goal to make the person in the row in front of me laugh at least once, usually at an inappropriate joke about one of my own players. I also try to start chants. Here in D.C., Im legend for being the guy who screams out crap on the escalator after the game. Mostly because, at that point, its the Smithwick's talking.

SW: What is it with the Devils not getting any respect in their own state?? I mean, South Jersey fans are usually Flyers fans, Northern Jersey goes with NYC, and the Central folks seem to care less. Why are people so down on this team??

GW: First off, Central Jersey represent: We care about a lot of things. Jovi tickets, shore traffic, the mall closest to a White Castle. All of it.

One aspect to the Devils problems is that buffet of other sports options. The Devils arent just competing with three other hockey teams; theyre competing against all of New Yorks teams and all of Phillys teams for attention, too.

I think the new arena will help, because its finally a destination worthy of a pro team. Its just a matter of adding some basic elements around the place. Like a good bar or two.

In the end, the Devils only have themselves to blame, because marketing was a foreign concept for that franchise for decades. Theres a distance between Devils fans and that team that doesnt exist for Islanders fans or for Capitals fans. They dont feel like part of the community. Its Lou Lamoriellos fault, because he created so many barriers for fans and for the media. But hes also the reason the team has three Stanley Cups, so its hard to argue with that approach.

SW: Switching gears to the internet; with all the blogs and podcasts pertaining to hockey, is it safe to say that hockey fans are the most tech savvy??

GW: Theres no question hockey fans are the most tech savvy. Were also the smartest fans, because you need a degree from M.I.T. to figure out the 27 columns in the NHL standings. Wins and losses?? Thats for morons. Make mine overtime defeat points!

Hockey fans also have the ability to edit together highlights, set them to a System of a Down song and put it on YouTube. Lets see a golf fan do that.

SW: As a follow up, do you think that fans in the states almost have to rely on the internet due to possible lack of coverage by national outlets??

GW: Yes, but not strictly in a blogging way. The Canadian newspapers and sites like TSN drive the narrative as much as any blog does, so for U.S. fans to have access to that is critical.

I worked for a newspaper for nearly a decade. It sucks to see that medium struggle, because it gave me everything I have (because I gave it everything I had). But part of that struggle comes from a misunderstanding of their audience. Im sorry, but if the Washington Post stops covering the Stanley Cup playoffs with a reporter after the Capitals are eliminated, thats not serving its audience. Thats serving its editors interests, of which hockey is not a primary one. And readers are like, I really dont care about what youre giving me, so Ill be leaving for the summer. And then the paper shrinks.

SW: Speaking of internet blogs, it seems that the Puck Daddy portion on Yahoo has been a rousing success. Whats in store for the season ahead?.

Similar posts: fantasy hockey

Right then, this must surely be one of the last signings posts i make, most teams seem to have their rosters full by now. Heres the ones that have happened since ive been gone:
Coventry have made arguably the biggest signing of the week, replacing Sylvain with Sylvain. Cloutier left a big hole in the league Champions roster, but former-Devil Deschatelets could be the guy to fill it. He finished last season with an impressive 26+62 for 88 points in 65 games and means that the Blaze now have 3 of the top 7 scorers from last season in Deschatelets, Calder and Carlson. Worrying times for the rest of the league.
The Steelers have made a surprise signing, bringing in infamous 24-year old thug Andrew Sharp, holder of a British passport despite playing most of his career in the States. Hes signed a one year two-way contract and will split his time between the Steelers and the Scimitars. You may remember Mr Sharp as being the guy who considers it OK to fire the pucks at the opposition during the pre-match warm-up. Sharp iced just 19 times for the Romford Raiders of the EPL last year and racked up an incredible 156 PIMS and 1 assist. Sounds like an awful player and a bit of a git to boot. On one hand, this gives a worrying message to the kids, dont worry about technique, all you need is to be able to throw a mindless punch or nine and youre in! On the other hand, its what Sheffield kinda need, a lunatic to protect their soft forward lines. I guess hell put bums on seats, so long as he gets Matsos to tie his laces up for him.
Hull have completed their roster with the signing of Canadian defenceman Troy Neumeier. The 37 year old Canadian has a wealth of experience behind him, with 17 clubs now having held his registration, including the Manchester Storm and more recently the Belfast Giants and last season, the Coventry Blaze. Definitely a steady-eddie own-zown guy, the Rays can expect no more than 10-15 points from him this season, but his knowledge could prove to be invaluable.
Theres only one to go for the Phoenix now, after coach Tony Hand completed the signing of 27 year old American RW Luke Fulghum (Ful-jum). He split last season between the Bridgeport Sound Tigers of the AHL and the Stockton Thunder and Elmira Jackels of the ECHL, racking up only 16+11 for 27 points in 46 games.
Basingstoke have brought in two defensemen, back comes the popular Eric Braff for his third season with the Bison and HUGE defenseman Jason Goulet makes his British league bow. Gouley spent last year with the Bakersfield Condors of the ECHL, racking up 5 points and 160 PIMS. Winner of the prestigious Basingstoke Gazette Sports Personality of the Year award last year, Braff is the final piece of the defence for the Herd which is actually looking pretty impressive. Could the Bison actually be making that step up from mediocrity to becoming a legitimate trophy contender? I dont know, but im getting some serious deja vu here!
Next up, the Devils have completed their import roster with the signing of experienced Thai/Swedish defenceman Likit Andersson. The 35 year old spent last year in Denmark and racked up 10 goals and 16 assists. This isnt his first spell in English hockey, he had a brief spell with the now-defunct Bracknell Bees in 2002, playing just three games for the club.
Finally, the Capitals have brought in three more players, centre Mark Hurtubise makes his first visit to Britain, and both Jordan Steel and Martin Cingel have been persuaded to return. Hurtubise, 24 from Montreal, spent last season with the Mississippi Sea Wolves of the ECHL and scored 14+30 for 44 points in 66 games with 46 PIMS. Not a bad signing, good second line player. Steel joined the Capitals this time last year and didnt manage to record a single point in his 41 games with the club. Cingel is slightly more experienced and returns for his seventh season in Scotland. The 33 year old has gotten better year on year for the Caps, recording 31, 43 and 53 points over the last three years, 232 in total.

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really meant as tongue in cheek. There are some though, that people seem to keep harping on consistently, but aren't realizing that they will never come to fruition.

Here's my "5 Ways" that will never happen.

Contraction. Wyshynski said it best during a Rumors Chat a few weeks ago (and I'm paraphrasing here): "good businesses don't contract, they expand". This is very true with the National Hockey League. Just getting the rights to an expansion team will cost you $300 million that will go right to the NHL. Why would Gary Bettman and company want to pass that up? Florida, Phoenix, and Nashville may not be the most stable of franchises in a long-term sense, but it would be better for the Board of Governors to have those teams relocate to a better market (namely Las Vegas, Kansas City...Canada?) where they'll be able to generate a profit.

Fire Gary Bettman. Sure, the fans hate him and the players aren't too keen on him either, but the bottom line is he's made the owners (his bosses) lots and lots of money since he began his tenure in 1993. Bettman's contract keeps getting renewed so obviously, he's done enough to keep the BOG plenty happy.

Reducing the schedule. You mean the owners will agree to losing several games worth of revenue? Not a bloody chance. The Rangers will need all the home games they can get to pay Wade Redden his $6.5 million salary. I understand the complaints about the schedule being too much for players and the season lasting so long. I think it's just a matter of tweaking. The 2008-09 season starts the weekend of October 4th with the Premiere Games, but the rest of the league doesn't drop the puck until the following Thursday on October 9th. Why the four days in-between games? Start them all on Tuesday and don't give teams more than two days off in a row (depending on travel scheduling) and we won't have the regular season ending all the way on April 12th. Shortening the schedule also increases the length of the off-season and will basically drive us all insane by early August.

Bringing back the old division names. I'll give you a little tease, this one is on my "5 Ways", but sadly, I don't see it ever happening. Despite the fact that the NHL would have to create two more division names to go with the Patrick, Adams, Norris, and Smythe, Gary Bettman brought the NBA's regionalize and geographically stable conference formats over in 1993.

Affordable ticket/concession/merchandise prices. It's the simple rule of supply and demand. If you keep coming to the games and throwing down your hard earned cash, no matter what the price, well, then why are the owners going to make themselves lose money that's already going into their pocket? The people who complain about $8 beers are the ones buying them every time they're in the arena. You don't have to have a beer (or seven) every time you go to a game. If you feel you do, then stop bitching about the price and pony up. Disgusted at insane ticket prices and parking charges? Then fire up the Center Ice package. The fans are more powerful than they think.

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I don't usually write much about football on these pages, but it's something to keep us occupied until the beginning of October.

Yes, I'm aware that my headline looks like a hockey game synopsis. Naturally, I did that on purpose. However, the game I'm talking about was between the NFL's Carolina Panthers and the San Diego Chargers. After leading 19-10 in the fourth quarter, Carolina fell behind 24-19 late in the game, only to win the game in dramatic fashion.

Week one of the NFL is when I'm pretty excited about football. Oh sure, like football, but by week eight, I've lost my interest. The beginning of football season signals the beginning of cooler nights and shorter days. More importantly, it means that hockey season is just around the corner.

Being a native North Carolinian, It's natural that the Carolina Panthers are my team. With a bionically rebuilt quarterback, a tandem running back situation, and a wide receiving corps made up of little-used depth guys and the ageless Muhsin Muhammad while Steve Smith rides the pine, the Panthers were hoping to run the ball a lot, chew up the clock, and depend on the defense to keep them in the game.

As it turned out, the defense did more than keep them in the game. Carolina's defense held Ladianian Tomlinson to less than 100 yards on the ground. They scored a defensive touchdown. They held the fort at some critical times.

Carolina's offense looked good early, but they were all Maxim Afinogenov-like. All Russian, no Finnish. They moved the ball down the field, but were stopped inside the one once, and settled for three first-half field goals.

Carolina added another field goal in the second half, plus a defensive touchdown, and found themselves in the driver's seat with about seven minutes to go. However, the defense gave up a touchdown, then the offense turned the ball over, leading to another touchdown just before the two minute warning.

Jake Delhomme, fresh off a Tommy John surgery, and playing without his favorite target, had to march down the field and get a touchdown. That's exactly what he did. Muhammad made some key catches. Dwayne Jarret made some key catches. The biggest of them all, though, was tight end Dante Rosario, who led all Panthers with 97 receiving yards on seven grabs.

The play straight out of a storybook. Carolina called its last timeout with 0:02 remaining and the ball on the Chargers' 14 yard-line. There are no running plays for this scenario. From the shotgun, Jake bobbled the snap, bought some time, then made a pump fake so convincing that the camera guys bought it. He sent a pass through two defenders to Rosario in the back of the endzone for the dramatic 25-24 win. The San Diego crowd fell deadly silent.

This is not how this was supposed to happen. I don't think anyone in their right mind would have predicted a Carolina win.

That game-winning drive was vintage Jake. If there were any doubts about his rebuilt shoulder, let them be cast aside. He's back. The way he led the team down the field and capped it off with a walk-off touchdown reminded me of 2003, when he stole the starting job from Rodney Peete and halftime of week one. That game ended the same way.

Rookie runningback Jonathan Stewart had a great game, as did the other half of the two-headed monster, DeAngelo Williams.

Smitty will be out for one more week, then it'll be just like 2003. Delhomme, Muhammad, Smith.

Once hockey season starts, you won't hear me go on about football anymore. Until then, I'll be doing this every Sunday.

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I know I haven't posted in forever, but not much is happening in Penguin-land as of late.



The Hockey News released its' pre-season top 50 player rankings this week and Pittsburgh Penguins' captain, Sidney Crosby was at the top of the list for the second consecutive year.


Despite the ankle injury that sidelined him for over a quarter of last season, Crosby bounced back in the playoffs, tying Henrik Zetterberg for the points lead.


Crosby missed 29 games last season, but was leading the league in scoring at the time of his injury. Despite the injury, Sid still finished the season with 72 points in 53 games. His points-per-game average of 1.36 was nearly identical to the newly-crowned league MVP, Alex Ovechkin.


At 21-years-old, Crosby has played in just 213 games in his young career. However, Crosby is nearing some milestones. His next goal will be the 100th of his career, he is five assists shy of 200, and six points away from 300 in his career. Sid will likely meet those milestones within the first two weeks of the upcoming season.



Other Penguins of mention in the Hockey News rankings were Evgeni Malkin (9th) and Sergei Gonchar (28th).


Malkin exploded during the final half of last season, registering 54 points in the Penguins' final 36 regular season games. In Crosby's absence, Malkin emerged as one of the NHL's true superstars, and earned himself a nomination for league MVP.

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Thank you from the mullets from Hockey Falls for a little vacation dreaming. So as quite a few hockey people are on vacation and that has streamed down to the media, bloggers, and radio personalities even.....I am going to take one too next week. I will be gone late Sunday night/early Monday Morning and should be back early Wednesday. Just a couple days to get away but more importantly just to recharge a bit. This is the time of year where everything is mostly dead but as anyone knows, it will not be dead for long.

Take a quick gander at Spectors this morning. That says it all right there. With the few rumors out there and little else going on overall...it is the perfect time to take a getaway. So enjoy the long weekend big man....you work awfully hard and deserve it. There are several others I know that are taking long weekends as well to go places. Can you really blame them at this point? I surely can't.

So where am I headed off to? Viva Las Vegas!! It is comical. In the two plus years I have been out West, I haven't gone once. Hard to believe? Yes. Nonetheless, the wife and I are headed there to see the sights and maybe look at the Las Vegas Wranglers' arena. That would be pretty cool. Naturally even on a vacation, I can't quite get away from the sport I love.

Hockey will take a bit of a backseat on this one...and hopefully I don't get dozens of texts like I did on my last mini vacation in Long Beach (but then again that was Draft Weekend). This time of year is so dead....you can hear the typing on the computer keyboard. Think I am kidding....walk around the office or room of a blogger right now and all you hear is either an old podcast, some music, or crickets. Oh and you'll hear the tapping on the keyboard too.

So just sit back and hopefully the dog days of August will go a little faster and before you know it, hockey will be back in session. The withdrawal will go away albeit very slowly and these "slow" days will be just a distant memory in due time.

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All I wanted was a chance to introduce myself this Sunday morning. I'm excited to be writing for the Arena Program, and Chris will tell you, he did not ask me to do this piece as a favor to him (like he needs one done). This is purely a passion project, a chance to get back to writing (mostly) straight hockey pieces. See, I did a column for "Puck Daddy" Greg Wyshynski back in our days at good ol' SportsFanMagazine, a great site with a DIY ethic and terrific writing. The column was called "Around the NHL", and I ended up writing 28 weekly columns over, give or take, a season and a half.

But then I had a bit of a mental breakdown, not breakdown, a large-scale brain-fart in early December. Luckily, Wyshynski was off to bigger and better things, and SFM would not last past April, so my services were no longer required there. But I did quick the blog I started, Battle of NY, simply because it was getting too hard to manage writers and get them to blog about their teams. You'd think wish the passion of the three New York-area hockey clubs, hundreds would gladly pay for free to talk Devils, Rangers and Islanders every day. But sadly, that was not the case. So I was essentially blog-less for about a month.

However, this was far from the end of my story. I had plotted all along what I would do. The struggling college student found himself a balance between studies and writing, and thankfully, the mastermind Paul Kukla was willing to take on a Hockey Media blog. Thus, "Eye on the Media" was born in January, and it's been an enormously happy 7 months over there. I can't be more in debt to Mr. Kukla, as well as Alanah and Bill for being so very friendly. Also, I should thank all my blogging friends, including Wyshynski, the MYFO guys, IPB, Wrap Around Curl, Derek Felix and many, many others for reading what I do as no more than a favor. Just as a post script, Eye on the Media's going nowhere for now. That will always be my first priority.

But this is a different animal altogether. This is a chance to get back to where I started from. Now, it won't be called "Around the NHL" because this is a hockey blog, and would sound retarded. I'll have a good name for it by next week. What we'll we talk about? Hockey players taking on golf, the schedule, and well anything that crosses my mind. Hell, I'd love to do some Q A. E-mail me at SMLepore@comcast.net if you want to ask me my opinion or get my answer on anything hockey related. After next Sunday, the column will run once every 2 weeks until October. Then, starting October 5th, it'll appear every Sunday morning at 9:00 A.M. Once April comes around, and Chris hasn't been told this yet, but I'd love to go Sunday Wednesday, and give my thoughts twice a week throughout the playoffs.

But I've never really planned ahead that far, as you can plainly see. See you next week, I guess.

Similar posts: fantasy hockey

It probably comes as no surprise that National Hockey League MVP Alexander Ovechkin is the top forward in the exclusive Sportstwit.com fantasy hockey player rankings for 2007-2008.

The winner of the Hart, Art Ross, and Lester B. Pearson awards last season, the 22-year-old Russian finished well ahead of center Evgeni Malkin of the Pittsburgh Penguins and winger Jarome Iginla of the Calgary Flames.
Here are the Top 30 fantasy forwards for 2007-08:


RNK Player Points GP G A PTS
1 Ovechkin, Alex LW WAS 83.95 82 65 47 112
2 Malkin, Evgeni C PIT 78.10 82 47 59 106
3 Iginla, Jarome RW CGY 77.44 82 50 48 98
4 Datsyuk, Pavel C DET 77.02 82 31 66 97
5 Zetterberg, Henrik LW DET 75.93 75 43 49 92
6 Thornton, Joe C SJ 72.48 82 29 67 96
7 Spezza, Jason C OTT 72.06 76 34 58 92
8 Kovalev, Alexei RW MON 71.95 82 35 49 84
9 Getzlaf, Ryan C ANA 70.52 77 24 58 82
10 Lecavalier, Vincent C TB 70.48 81 40 52 92
11 Alfredsson, Daniel RW OTT 69.79 70 40 49 89
12 Heatley, Dany RW OTT 69.43 71 41 41 82
13 Staal, Eric C CAR 68.16 82 38 44 82
14 Gaborik, Marian RW MIN 67.80 77 42 41 83
15 Sundin, Mats C TOR 67.29 74 32 46 78
16 Kovalchuk, Ilya LW ATL 67.21 79 52 35 87
17 Morrow, Brenden LW DAL 66.89 82 32 42 74
18 Richards, Mike C PHI 66.86 73 28 47 75
19 Doan, Shane RW PHO 66.40 80 28 50 78
20 Roy, Derek C BUF 66.08 78 32 49 81
21 Pominville, Jason RW BUF 65.84 82 27 53 80
22 Ribeiro, Mike C DAL 64.95 76 27 56 83
23 Savard, Marc C BOS 64.63 74 15 63 78
24 Nash, Rick LW CLB 64.53 80 38 31 69
25 St. Louis, Martin RW TB 64.13 82 25 58 83
26 Sedin, Daniel LW VAN 64.05 82 29 45 74
27 Jagr, Jaromir RW NYR 63.67 82 25 46 71
28 Arnott, Jason C NSH 63.24 79 28 44 72
29 Jokinen, Olli C PHO 62.96 82 34 37 71
30 Crosby, Sidney C PIT 62.

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