Mikey D

Is Adam destined to be the fantasy champ? I wouldn't bet against it. Going into Monday night, Stacey had Jeff Reed and was trailing Adam by a few points. Stacey must have felt good knowing that the game was going to be low scoring (lots of field goals potentially). And while there were less field goals than anticipated, Jeff Reed got the 5 points that Stacey needed to put her on top. Except Adam ended up winning by four. Why? Jeff Reed inexcusably missed an extra point, thus costing Stacey the game. Destiny? When kickers start missing extra points and thus leading your team to victory, one has to wonder...

A.I. trade. I'm warming to it. I was intially against it for a few reasons. The main being I don't like A.I. as a player. I always thought he was a me-first guy who just didn't mesh well with teammates. If the game was all about going one-on-one, I'd love him. He's not a point guard, so just plugging him in where Billups was isn't logical. He's a scorer first and foremost, a passer second. Billups was the team leader, the floor general, the heart and soul of our team. If anyone were going, I thought it'd be Sheed...

All that being said, the trade makes a lot of sense for us now. Obviously we needed to shake things up. Mission accomplished. Whether the risk will end in reward remains to be seen, but if it doesn't work out we're not locked into anything. I think that's what's most important. If A.I. sucks in Detroit, we can let him walk and say we tried. His contract is expiring at the end of this year, which is fantastic for us as it clears all sorts of money off our books and puts us way under the salary cap. Stephen A. said the move opens up the possibility of going after a guy like LeBron, and while I could never see that happening, I do like the idea of going after other free agents from that crop, like Bosh or Wade. Thinking ahead, I'd love Bosh in Detroit. I'm picturing a starting five of Stuckey-Hamilton-Prince-Bosh-Maxiell. I'd go to battle with that. Notice there's no Sheed in the picture, as I'm hoping we move him for something that makes our roster better, either excellent parts off the bench or draft picks. So like I said, I can see the benefits of the trade now, especially long term. In Joe D I trust.

Okay, back to football.

Updated Standings after 9 Weeks:
Mike: 90 (12-2 last week, 10-4 on coin flip picks)
Kevin: 79 (11-3 last week, 8-6 on coin flip picks)
Adam: 78 (9-5 last week, 5-9 on coin flip picks)

Even though Adam picked the least amount correctly, he had the balls to pick Kansas City over Tampa Bay, and he should have been right on that one. That was almost the call of the year, and I don't think anyone would have predicted that anywhere in the country (outside of Kansas City).

Go make your picks!

Week 10 Picks
Cleveland over Denver
Jacksonville over Detroit
New York over St. Louis
Tennessee over Chicago
Baltimore over Houston
New Orleans over Atlanta
Buffalo over New England
Miami over Seattle
Minnesota over Green Bay
Pittsburgh over Indianapolis
Carolina over Oakland
San Diego over Kansas City
Philadelphia over New York
Arizona over San Francisco

Upset Pick: I'm not sure what the lines are to see who's favored, but I'm imagining New England at home will be favored over Buffalo. I like Buffalo! They've been beat down their last two divisional games, so this is really a must-win for them. Give me a talented team with their backs against the wall! While everyone loves the Patriots resilience, their schedule has been s-o-f-t. Bottom line: They don't have Brady, they lost their RBs, and their defense is suspect. You can only go so far with Cassell and Kevin Faulk in your backfield. Trent Edwards hits Lee Evans deep, throw a couple TDs, and Lynch and Jackson control the game late on the ground.

Fantasy Guys I Was Impressed With This Week:
QB- Tyler Thigpen. I just love his stat line. 164 yards and 1 TD passing, 6 carries for 22 yards on the ground, and 1 catch for 37 yards and a TD. He outperformed 2 of the 3 guys who I started at receiver this week, haha. I am even more impressed he did all that against Tampa Bay, which is pretty stout on the defensive end.

RB- Ray Rice. Guessing who is coming out of the Baltimore backfield is becoming ridiculously difficult, and Grace has been burned twice this year. That being said, Rice emerged and ran for a 154 yards this week. Nice job, rook.

WR- Derek Mason- Woop! The juke move he put on the Cleveland corner was a thing of beauty. This old timer still has it, to the tune of 136 yards and a TD.

TE- Brent Celek- The backup to the backup tight end isn't supposed to catch 131 yards worth of passes and set a team record for yards caught by a tight end! Except that's what he did.

Fantasy Guys I Like This Week:
QB- Brady Quinn (a short week means less time to think about his start, and he's been waiting for this moment. And Denver is bad), RB- DeAngelo Williams (I think Oakland is bad, so I'm picturing Carolina with a lead and sitting on it), Roscoe Parish (I just think there's some big plays to be had against that NE secondary...), TE- Marcedes Lewis (Way out on a limb here, but we'll see)

Last week I was 3 out of 4. Not bad. I hit on Bulger (couple of TD tosses), Shiancoe (got a TD, which you will gladly take out of a tight end), and Graham (although his fumbles almost made his decent day bad). Missed on Hester, as his fumble hurt him, as well as losing Orton halfway through the game.

And before I go, I was perusing YouTube when I found this old clip of Plaxico during his MSU days abusing David Terrell. It makes me happy. I am still enjoying and smiling about our victory over U of M this year. I feel like with 8+ wins, a win over U of M, and U of M not going to a bowl this year, our season has been like a dream. Just finish strong, MSU!



Was that Mike Golic doing the announcing?

~Mikey D