September 29, 2012

Ryder Cup Saturday Afternoon Recap

Crossing Guards here.  I met James in 2006 when he was roommates with Adam Bombvold at UMass.  Currently I'm half season ticket partner with JB for this upcoming NHL season that's right around the corner.  Can't wait!  With both the 2012 Ponkapoag Golf League & PGA Tour over, the Ryder cup is one of golf fans last chances to see all the best players hit the links.  James was attending a wedding Saturday and asked if I was interested in filling in live blogging the afternoon matchups and below is my attempt at doing just that.



Interesting read here:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/golf/rydercup/9563924/Ryder-Cup-2012-US-eliminate-the-rough-and-keep-the-smooth-as-Medinah-transforms-into-Birdie-country.html

Davis Love III requested that the rough at Medinah Country Club be trimmed and some believe the reason why is to favor the American long ball hitters.  I like this.  I'd rather watch these guys battle it out making birdies than to see them win holes with pars/bogeys.  and really both squads hit the long ball.

Current score as of writing this: USA - 9 - EU - 4
 Live stream of the matchups here: http://www.rydercup.com/live/pga/player.html

 - Bubba Watson and Webb Simpson win their 4-ball match up 5 & 4 with Justin Rose and Francesco Molinari. Watson/Simpson now 2-1 in the cup. What more needs to be said about this tandem? The crowd loves them and Bubba hits the longggg ball (chicks dig the long ball.) They've won both days at 4-ball and lost their morning Saturday alternate shot match up. Can't ask for much more.

 - Woods/Stricker are now 1 down against Garcia/Donald with 5 to go. Woods birdied the par 3 13 to get it back down to 1. I've been watching these matches out at bars for both days now, and the general tone for Tiger has been negative and I can't really argue that. But really my opinion on this is that a) he's Tiger Woods. b) he's #2 in the world so I want him out there regardless.

- Dufner/Z. Johnson lead Poulter/McIlroy by 2 through 12.  I am a big fan of Dufner.  Get's hated on for for being a little chunky (Stafford of the PGA) but damn this guy can putt.  This is his first time on the team and he's 2-0 and been a great partner with Johnson.  Having the lead on Poulter/McIlroy right now is huge.  These two guys are the heart of the European team if you ask me.  Poulter is a guy you hate when he's not on your team but love when he is.  McIlroy is well, #1 in the world and a stud.  Taking a point here would be awesome.

- Kuchar/D. Johnson lead Lawrie/Colsaerts by 1 through 15.  I love Kuch.  He acknowledges the crowd and really looks like he's having fun out there.  Colsaerts has cooled off from yesterday but damn that was an impressive round he put together.  Kuch is carrying this pair today with 3 birdies mostly in the front 9 (& 10.)

- Poulter/McIlroy get one back on 13 and now Dufner/Johnson are only up by 1.  McIlroy hit a great iron shot on the par 3 and then sank it for birdie.

- Tiger for birdie on the par 5 14.  Donald matches him with an up and down from the sand to keep the Europeans 1 up.  Tiger is starting to heat up similar to his afternoon match yesterday.  Hopefully he can pull it off today. I bet half the bar yesterday he was going to hit his putt on 18 to make it AS.  I'd make the same bet today.

- Kuch/Johnson are now AS with Lawrie/Colsaerts going into 17.  The Europeans won with a par on 16 as Kuch put his 2nd shot off a tree and Johnson bogeyed after finding the rough.  Going to need to calm the nerves on the par 3 17th.

- 3 of four players on 15 (Stricker, Woods, Garcia) found the left green side bunker on this hole.  Donald has put his closest to the pin by driving the green.  Donald can make this 2 up on the Americans with a birdie putt.

- Donald makes it and gets the Europeans up by 2 with 3 to play.  Is Tiger really going to go 0-3 in 2 days of Ryder Cup play?  Ouch.

- D. Johnson has a chance here to help Kuch out on 17 with a birdie.  He put his tee shot on the right side of the green with a right to left putt.

- Sank it.  Crowd is loving it and now the Americans have a 1-up lead through 17.

- Z. Johnson in the water on 15 (short par 4.)  Dufner lays up, smart play to give himself a wedge into the green.  Poulter and McIlroy are in the sand next to the green.

- Z. Johnson looking at his ball in the water on 15.  Sounds like he can see it but I am not sure he can play it from there?  He seems pissed.

- Kuch puts it short of the green on the par 4 18.  Lawrie puts it long left from almost the exact same spot as Kuch.  Colsaerts almost slam dunked it and then spun it in, wow what a good shot.  Johnson puts it pin high right of the stick.  Americans need this hole to give themselves a whole point and hold off the Europeans.

- Dufner puts it 10-feet? away on 15 after his layup.  Almost spun it back into the water but has a decent look for birdie.

- Tiger puts it close on 16 after a massive drive.  Good look at a birdie putt.

- Lawrie misses his long putt on 18 and goes way long, looking at a long par putt.  Kuch chips up close but now just looking at par.  Johnson BARELY misses his birdie putt.  It's up to Colsaerts now and this guys been en fuego.

- McIlroy out of the sand on 16 not so close, but Poulter puts it realll close and looks very fired up.  He wants this and got his birdie.  Dufner misses his birdie putt and its now AS with 3 to go.

- Colsaerts missed his putt and Johnson/Kuchar with this match up 1-up.  The overall score is now 10-4.  P.S. Juan Miguel Jimenez is there with the European captains and that guys a baller.  Pretty sure he used to smoke stogies/butts while playing no problem.

- Tiger just birdied 16 and now its 1-up for the Europeans.  4 birdies on the back 9 for Tiger.  Let's do this.  17 is a par 3 he can really attack.  I heard the announcers say Garcia tried to ice Tiger by asking the officials who was long on the green.  What a clown.

- Tiger with an 8-iron 178 yards to 3 feet from the pin.  Colin Farrell get at ME.  Garcia puts his right outside Tigers and Donald puts it even closer really putting the brakes on the American momentum.  Donald was #1 in the world for a bit so I shouldn't be surprised he stuck it here but really?? 0-2 on the tournament and now he steps it up?

- The TV coverage has been focusing on Tiger right now.  Will give an update on Dufner/McIlroy when they start going back to them.

- Tiger sinks a birdie and now it comes down to 18.  Can the Americans get it back to AS and take a 1/2 point?  He was sooo close yesterday.

- Poulter sinks a birdie putt on 16.  Dufner has a chance to match him.

- Dufner misses and now the Europeans are up 1 with 2 to go.  I hear the shankapotamus lives on the 17th hole but only comes out when discotecha Euros are on the tee.  Poulter in trouble.

- Poulter puts it 5-10 feet away on 17 and McIlroy pulls it left almost into the sand. Johnson puts it just right of the stick and really attacked the pin.  Awesome shot.  This hole is so intimidating and that was a gutsy shot.  Dufner pulled his left like Rory's.

- Stricker puts hit close on 18.  Donald from the sand after his tee shot basically has no chance now.  Garcia puts his long left and Tiger puts his pin high right almost off the green.

- Poulter is locked in and drains another birdie on 17.  3 effing birdies in a row. Stores are stocking up on tight pants, hair gel, and fluorescent shirt as sales are about to go crazy.

- Garcia is NERVOUS.  Walked away from his putt once on 18 and you can just see it on his face.

- Missed it.  Stricker with a chance to halve the match here.  Stricker is a putting wizard so we have a chance.

- anddddd he misses it with a lip out just like yesterday.  USA - 10 EU - 5.  Tiger/Stricker are now 0-3.  Gross.  I want to believe he's going to win his singles match up tomorrow but how can I?  I hope he plays Sergio tomorrow.  I really don't like that guy for some reason and Tiger isn't a big fan of him either.

- Poulter puts his iron shot close on 18 of course.  Johnson as well just outside Poulter.  Dufner puts it 3-feet away?  Closest so far.  Rory hasn't been playing well the back 9 but Poulter has been making up for it and as I type this spun his off the front of the green.

- Rory misses his birdie putt on 18 and Dufner makes it putting the pressure on Poulter to keep the Europeans up 1.

- Poulter sinks it on 18 to keep the Europeans up 1.  Officially can't stand this guy in the Joakim Noah sort of way I described above.

USA- 10 EU - 6


Ryder Cup Saturday Morning

-Keegan Bradley this morning said he needed a shot of adrenaline so he sprinted from the practice green over to the USA crowd and literally just started going crazy to get them pumped up. It worked. And of course Bubba came in and started acting crazy too. 

- I love Bubba Watson. I think he's my new favorite golfer.  This first match (Bubba/Webb vs Poulter/ Rose) is going to be great. Each team has 1 serious guy and 1 rockstar. Should be fun to watch. 

-The scene on the first Tee was great again this morning. Poulter teed off first and got the Euro crowd to make noise/cheep during his shot. Trying to create what happened yesterday w/ Bubba. Of course, right after his shot Bubba himself stepped up to the tee and the crowd went WILD. And outdrove the Euros. I just love the cheering during tee shots. 

-I'm trying to find pictures to upload from this morning but I can't find any yet. What did I find though when I was looking? Pictures of wives/girlfriends of the golfers:


McDowell and Rose's 
Webb Simspon and his wife

This was yesterday. Keegan's gf and Phil's wife congratulating them on the green right after they won. 

-The Euro team of Westwood/Donald is so intimidating. 2 guys who have recently held the #1 ranking worldwide. Don't tell Phil and Keegan that. 

-Keegan Bradley and Phil Mikelson are currently 2 up through 2 holes. I heard someone on TV actually infer the idea that Keegan Bradley was born to play the Ryder Cup

-The Americans have only won the foursomes matches on Day 2 in 1981 and 1991. Crazy. Hopefully they win this morning and we can add 2012 to that list. 

-Watching these foursome matches (alternating shots between a pair of golfers on the same Team) is making me want to try it out myself. I've never played and it seems pretty fun. 

-Raucous. That's the only word to describe the crowd/atmosphere at this Ryder Cup.



-I'm sorry but this has to be said: Jason Dufner is such a weirdly fat looking guy. I just can't stand looking at him. He's good at golf though. 

-Jim "the bird man" Furyk is just so solid. Him and Snedeker are in a re-match of yesterdays close loss too McIlory/McDowell. I expect a great performance from all 4 of those guys in the anchor match today. Oh and yes, I am the only one who calls Furyk the Bird-man. For 2 reasons: A. he looks like a bird and B. He's obv nasty and makes birdies all the time. His 'real' nicknames are "The Grinder" and "The businessman" which are both totally appropriate. 

-Keegan and Phil both JUST missed winning putts on 3 and 4. They are playing on a different level. Still 2 up. 

-It's worth noting this is the first time Tiger has ever sat out a match in a Ryder Cup. I hope he uses this for fuel this afternoon because I am sure he will be back and hopefully he takes over. 

-At this moment in time the Americans lead all 4 matches. Opposite of yesterday morning's start when Euro took over early. 

-Just heard a story from yesterday about Phil on the 13th green.  Keegan had hit it close from deep in the fairway and Phil turned to him and said "I'm going to make this so you can see how it feels" and of course drained it. And, if you look at the video, Phil was staring at Bradley after he hit it and right before the putt fell in. Goosebumps. 

-Nothing is really going on right now. The Americans lead 3 of the matches, Ian Poulter is the best player this morning for the Euros and the only reason why they aren't getting swept. 

-It seems like there is no chance Phil/Keegan even lose a hole. They have had a winning putt on nearly every hole. Currently lead 3 up through 6. 

-And now Keegan just sank a huge putt on 9 to go 5 up. On the radar for most dominating Ryder cup performance of all time. 

-And it's over. Phil and Bradley win 7 & 6 tieing the largest margin of victory in team golf history. Wow. 

-The Euros are making a late push this morning. Rose/Poulter are 2 Up with 5 to play, Garcia/Colsaerts are AS with Fatty/DJ, and the Northern Ireland team is down 1. 



-Furyk just sank that putt to go 2 up with 7 holes to play. Great putt by the bird-man to gain that valuable hole. McIlroy and McDowell have par every hole. No birdies. crazy. 

-Dufner and Zach Johnson have played some solid golf. Nothing spectacular but they are looking good, Up 2 with 3 to play. Good pairing for DLIII


-Bird man another birdie on 14 to halve a hole... 

-Damn. Bubba and Webb almost came back to halve their match on 18 but Webb missed the longish birdie Putt. Poulter was a beast this morning, best player for Europe. 

The score is now 6-4, with the Americans leading the remaining 2 matches, pretty comfortably.

-Score now 7-4 after Dufner/DJ close it out on 17. Euros dunked it in the H2O haha. 

-McIlroy just sank a huge birdie putt on 16 down. Only 1 down with 2 to play. McDowell stuck the tee shot on 17 and I expect Rory to make that birdie. Huge shot upcoming for the Bird Man...

-Bird man didn't hit it close enough. Snedeker missed the putt but thanfully so did Rory. Americans up 1 with 1 to play. 




Here are this afternoon matches:






My Predictions:

Dustin Johnson Matt Kuchar halve with Colsaerts and Lawrie

Bubba and Webb 2 & 1 over Rose/Molinari 

Woods and Stricker 3 & 1 over Garcia/Donald

McIlroy and Poulter 4 & 3 over Dufner and Johnson.

Americans take 10 1/2  - 5 1/2  lead going into the final day. 


Keegan Bradley, Phil Mikelson, Jim Furyk, and Brandt Snedeker, arguably all in the top 5 on this team, all have the afternoon off. These guys are going to rest up for tomorrow single matches. I think I like the move by DLIII. And obviously by my predictions I think Tiger is going to be lights out. I also expect a easy win for McIllroy/Poulter.

*** I am going westward for a wedding at Umass tonight. My buddy Bill will hopefully be live updating this afternoon on this blog. ****

Also, thanks for reading. I've already broken the record for most page views in the history of my blog today. 





September 28, 2012

Ryder Cup Day 1 Re-Cap



Team USA bosses Kooch, DJ, And Woods

The Americans lead 5-3

The duo of Tiger Woods and Steve Stricker went 0-2 

Phil Mikelson and Keegan Bradley went 2-0 and looked great, beating McIlroy and McDowell in the afternoon. 

Nick Colsaerts played incredible golf this afternoon for the Euros. It was his Ryder Cup debut and he beat Tiger.

Its worth noting American Bubba Watson pulled a Happy Gilmore and got the crowd to cheer loudly DURING his opening tee shot. So sweet, something you never see in Golf. Once there's an acceptable video on-line somewhere I'll post it. 

I don't know the exact stats but the team leading after Day 1 almost always wins. I think the last time that wasn't the case was the historic 1999 Ryder Cup in Brookline. 

Tomorrow's schedule is the same as today's. We will know later tonight what the matchups will be, they are due within 2 hours of the last putt.  Stay tuned! Go USA


*For more details check out the 2 earlier posts with notes from both the morning and afternoon matches 

Ryder Cup Friday Afternoon


I'm confident if the presidential election was today and  Keegan Bradley and Phil Mikelson entered they would win. Watching these 2 play together is really something I haven't seen in a while. Bradley is just rising to the occasion. 1st Ryder cup for this kid and he's just stone cold. Straight up sinking putts from deep like it aint no thang. He's pumping up Phil, which is awful news for the Euros because a confident, pumped up Phil is pretty much the best player in the world. 

Anyway Here are some other notes from this afternoon. I'll update it every time I add something

-Tiger is playing much, much better this afternoon. Still not outstanding, but it is nice to see him play well and hopefully put his awful performance this morning behind him. 

-The dynamic duo of McIlroy and McDowell is getting owned by Bradley and Mikelson. Great 4-some to watch, but Bradley and Mikelson just keep making shots.

-Matt Kuchar is a stud. This guy is just so consistent. It's tough to ever see him taking control and dominating like you see the truly elite golfers do, but Kooch is sup solid and just one of those guys you know is going to give a great performance. 

-Watson/Simpson are currently up on Lawrie/Hanson 6 holes through 10. They are challenging for the best/most dominating performance of all time. Birdied 6 of the first 7 holes... wow. 

-Currently the Americans are winning 3 of the 4 matches and the 4th is all square. The overall score for the Ryder cup is tied, 2-2

-It's worth mentioning again. Kuchar is beast. Just sank ANOTHER mid range put for another hole win. 





-Also another guy who is playing well that sat out this morning for the Americans is Bubba Watson. Quick note about Bubba: Used to be my least favorite golfer, for literally no good reason except I hated how his name sounded. But then I actually watched him play and learned more about him... He's a cool dude. And worth a follow on Twitter by the way. 

-I'm watching the golf this afternoon with Ms. Nobody Wins on the Blue. This was her reaction to all the action this afternoon:




-Is it a given that these 2 dudes are the coolest non-American golfers? McDowell just looks like a boss w no hat no visor just letting the flow go. 




-Mikelson just made the best shot of the day on the 16th. Way off the fairway to a hidden green over trees, lots of trouble, Phil flys it into the middle of the green and sticks it w/ a wood. BEAST MODE! 

-This dude Colsaerts, who's playing with Westwood, is on fire. -7 through 9 holes and the only reason why the Euros aren't getting swept this afternoon. These 2 are playing against Woods/Stricker and since it looks like the Americans are going to win the other 3 matches, this becomes super important. 

-Damnit. Euros are making a run late in the day sinking putts left and right. USA still looking good in 2/3 remaining matches but it looks like Woods/Stricker are going to go 0/2 today. Expect them both to sit out tomorrow morning. Woods just sucks at the Ryder cup. He's not a team player, he has a good attitude but his killer instinct is only present when he's looking out for #1 only. Loser. 


MIKELSON AND BRADLEY JUST PWNED NORTHERN IRELAND!
I love these guys. 


-Westwood just flopped a shot onto the green from like 5 yards away and his ball was in the water. These guys are good. If Woods/Stricker come back (Currently 1 down with 3 to play) I'd be shocked. 

-Tiger's turning it on down the stretch. Down 1 with 2 to play. If the Americans steal this match, Euro is in trouble.

-Wow Colsaerts just silenced Tiger and America. Drained a looooong putt to hold off a comeback for now. If he misses USA squares the match going into the last hole. This guy has swag for days. Love his emotions. Too bad he's Euro trash.

-Tiger just lipped out on 18 to tie up his match. He birdied 16 and 17 and coudln't sink it on 18. What an awesome intense moment, though. I can't believe that putt didn't fall. My heart was beating so fast right before he hit that putt... I don't think I've felt like that since the Bruins playoffs in April. 









Ryder Cup Friday Morning



I've been watching most of the Ryder Cup this morning and just wanted to keep a few running notes of interesting things I've seen for all you normal, productive people who are working and don't get to enjoy the best golf weekend every other year.

The format this morning is called 4-somes, which means 2 teammates share 1 ball and alternate shots. 

The matchups this morning:



UNITED STATESEUROPE

Jim Furyk/Brandt Snedeker    vs.    Rory McIlroy/Graeme McDowell 
Phil Mickelson/Keegan Bradley   vs.   Luke Donald/Sergio Garcia 
Jason Dufner/Zach Johnson  vs.  Lee Westwood/Fransesco Molinari
Tiger Woods/Steve Stricker     vs.     Ian Poulter/Justin Rose 

Running notes-

-The McIlroy/McDowell pairing is crazy good. Those guys are both from the tiny country Northern Ireland and they are just dominating. 
-Tiger is playing awful. Literally can't hit a fairway. He missed a short putt, he tried a flop shot that went about 3 feet ahead and stayed in the rough.... Just some bad play. I know he's Tiger but he has a shaky history in the Ryder Cup and if I'm American captain DL III I think about sitting Woods in the afternoon matches. At the very least it would fire him up and probably piss him off so tomorrow he would dominate. 
-There have been some crazy, crazy bounces already. Tiger hot a ball wayyyy right and it ended up ricocheting 30 yards up into the fairway, luckily. Furyk hit a beautiful pin high shot that hit a sprinkler head and instead of landing nicely in the rough it shot 35 feet through the crowd into a terrible lie. 
-Furyk just called a penalty on himself. He took a practice swing and the ball moved about 1 millimieter. Actually, it didn't even move, it just kind of shifted. I think it's stupid to count that as a stroke but whatever. Good on Furyk for calling it out himself.  
-Keegan Bradley is whoa crazy crazy fidgety. Spinning his club and bouncing around on the tee box more than normal .
-This Italian dude Molinari is an excellent putter. Great idea to pair him with Westwood, who sometimes struggles on the green but is pretty much the best ball striker on the Tour.
-Keegan Bradley is fired UP! Arguably been the best American player so far. He just landed a ball within about 20 feet on a long par-3. Phil, his partner, was so fired up he slapped his ass on the tee box! haha it was great. Oh and Phil drained the putt for bird and that pairing is currently 2 up with 5 to play. 
-The beginning of these matches were all going Europe's way. The Americans have seized control and momentum seems to be swinging our way. Currently the Europeans lead 2 matches and the Americans lead 2 matches. We'll see how it shakes out but if it's tied, you gotta believe that favors the Americans. 

I have to go for a bit but I will be back to take notes on the afternoon matches. 


September 25, 2012

Dirty D Week 3 Power Ranks


1. Team Ice Cream (last week #1)- Adam's team is in a groove right now. This team blasted 161 points this week for the second straight biggest blowout victory in 2 weeks. He has the most points scored in the league to go along with the least against. This is the only remaining undefeated team, and with no major injuries (good luck) + a really good roster = greatness. And that's what we have seen so far from Team Ice Cream.

2. Tahiti Loungers (last week #5)- My team shoots back up to the top of the rankings after a big showing (135 points) and a big trade. Earlier in the week the Loungers made a deal with the Angry Pirates sending Tony Romo, Brandon Marshall, Dennis Pitta, and Dexter McCluster to Campbell's team for Aaron Rodgers, Larry Fitzgerald, and Kendall Hunter. I feel as if I made a great deal for my team. I know Marshall is a beast (obviously, I picked him 24th overall) but when you have the chance to trade for Aaron Rodgers, you take it. After a slow start, Larry Fitzgerald came back huge with a monster performance against one of the best secondaries in the league. Fitz has a great schedule in the next few weeks and I expect top-10 production from this point on. Another major contributor and new member to my team is Martellus Bennett, The Black Unicorn. He's a stud and Eli loves his TE's. One last note for this week was the emergence of Eric Decker and Torrey Simth. Both had monster games and I expect a lot of the same moving forward. Truthfully, I like my roster a significant amount more than Team Ice Cream's roster, but I cannot bring myself to demote Adam from the #1 spot after such a huge week 3. These 2 team are starting to separate from the pack.  

3. the rental guys (last week #2)- Birthday boy Dan had a second consecutive pedestrian week. I think the NFL is realizing Josh Freeman sucks so opponents are going to stack the box vs Martin, and Cam Newton didn't look great this week. Dan wisely used his high priority waiver claim on Andre Brown, who led his team with 28 points. Reggie Wayne continues to be outstanding, and easily Dan's best pick of the draft. This week will be tough without him (Colts on bye) so other guys are going to need to step up. I'm talking to you Jordy.  

4. Eat More Chicken (last week #8)- WELCOME TO THE LEAGUE! Jenna put an exclamation on her first win by cutting down Kait's team by almost 50 points. This team is rocking pretty hard right now, obviously a lot of that has to do with Matt Ryan and the Falcons red-hot start. I do think there are major red flags with this team, however. The injury to McGahee is bad news, Jenna doesn't have anyone at all on her bench to replace him. Also Steven Jackson is banged up and when your 3rd running back is Shonn Greene you have issues. If the Falcons ever have a bad game, (They will, soon) this team could legit score under 50 points. Week 7 vs Paul is an auto loss as this roster stands right now. For this week though, after 3 solid weeks and her first league win, Jenna should be celebrating. 

5. Crossing Guards (last week #7)- Bill's team is steadily rising in my rankings. This week Bill eeked out a 5 point victory to vault him up to 3rd in the league standings.  Also, Bill beefed up his starting roster earlier in the week by trading away some RB depth (Deangelo Williams, Mark Ingram) and TE Kyle Rudolph, for stud TE Vernon Davis. I think he has the depth to withstand the upgrade at TE so I liked the move a lot for Bill. The scary thing about Bill's team is that his WR haven't even gone crazy yet, and it's only a matter of time before Dez and Percy have enormous games.  The Stafford injury doesn't seem too serious so I'm not downgrading this team for that yet. Also the emergence of Mikel Leshoure is very good thing for BIll.

6. A Pinch Better (last week #6)- Tough loss for Sean but this team can't expect to win with a mediocre performance by Eli and Cruz. Chris Johnson looks awful but Sean actually has a bunch of guys I'm starting to like more (Austin, Smith) and I think this is going to be a team on the bubble team all season, although If I owned this team I'd be busy making moves. Tough matchup this week vs my team. 

7. Victorious Secret (last week #3)- The worst performance of the week has to go to Kait. I've said it before the weakness on this team, QB Cutler, needs to be addressed. His offensive line is terrible and he seems like the type of player who gives up easily. That's part of the reason why I traded away Brandon Marshall: Jay Cutler sucks this year, terribly. Also, CJ Spiller was on his way to a great day but left with what looks like a 1-2 week injury. Crazy fact of the week: Sproles had 0 catches. Don't ask me why, but that should never, ever happen again.  

8. A1 Providers (last week #10)- This team reminds me so much of Dan's championship winning team from a few years ago. A really shoddy lineup that just squeaks out victories and lucks it's way wins. Turner and Benson look good for now, and Welker looked like his old reliable self with AH out. Brees is going to be chucking it from behind all year and Hawkins looks like a pretty reliable flex player this year. Still, this team has major flaws and will likely need to make a trade (Garcon?) to stay with it. This week he takes on Dan who will be missing one of his best players in Wayne. Ride that luck train Paul!

9. The Godfather (last week #11)- WELCOME TO THE LEAGUE Abe! What a huge victory for the Godfather over the rental gays. After making the bold trade earlier in the week to acquire some help at RB, Abe got 2 TDs from his new guy Gronk Jr Kyle Rudolph. Stevie Johnson is a sneaky top-WR that no one ever talks about, and Brady played well so Abe's team competed. Oh and he also had a pretty OK day from JC in KC. Something like 50+ fantasy points. Is that good? BALLLEERRRRRRRRRR (If Charles is really back, which is looks like he is, this team just got a enormous boost)

10. Boston Patriots (last week #4)- This seems like a harsh rank, but like I've said before the Boston Patriots need to pile up wins now, early in the season, but is stuck in a 1-2 record. Kevin Smith is basically droppable now, and the Lawfirm's regression as the season has grown is a little concerning. Julio Jones and Mike Wallace continue to be studly for these Patriots and if Kenny Britt ever comes back and dominates like we've seen him do, this team could/should make a splash in the next few weeks.

11. Comeback Story. (last week #9)- I had a tough time ranking Donny's team this week. He had a slow week overall but had some great individual performances from both MJD and Andrew Luck. The RB depth here is really, really bad. Fred Jackson is NEEDED back. Comeback Story does have a very, very nice WR corps, hopefully he can find a team to make a deal with and even out the balance on his team. This roster has a lot of potential, but a middling finish is more likely on the horizon.   

12. Angry Pirates (last week #12)-  The trade Campbell made in the middle of the week was a solid one- it filled out his roster nicely but that didn't matter this week. Romo disappointed, (get used to that, C bell) Reggie Bush, Peyton Hillis, and Dexter McCluster all got hurt, and AP looked human again. Doesn't help that Antonio Brown has a bye this week. Angry Pirates are dealing with a major Super Bowl hangover. Haven't scored in triple digits yet and the only winless team in the league. Anyone feel bad? Didn't think so. 











September 24, 2012

Breaking News: Revis out for season!


Darrell Revis tore his ACL in the JETS lucky win in Miami yesterday. Revis is hands-down the Jets best player and they are significantly worse without him. Pats went 11-5 when their best player went down with an ACL (Brady, 08) let's see what the Jets do hahahaha




September 18, 2012

Dirty D Week 2 Power Ranks



1. Team Ice Cream (last week #5)- Adam's team takes over the top spot in the power rankings after his second consecutive blowout victory. This time the team was fueled by rookies T-Rich and RG3, who combined for 59 points. There is a lot of depth at RB here and with a bunch of teams already desperate for starters (bye weeks haven't even started yet) Adam should fair well in the trade market. 

2. the rental guys (last week #4)- Like I said in last week's matchup, Dan has a high floor. He had a somewhat slow week and still put up 114, probably right around the minimum he can expect as long as Cam Newton keeps up his incredible play from week 2. The loss of Forte for a few weeks is somewhat of a damper, but with his handcuff/RBBC partner Michael Bush already on this roster, there should be no major problems. If Reggie Wayne produces at this level all season, the rental guys are going to win a lot more games.  
 
3. Victorious Secret (last week #1)- Kait's team had an off week- Andre Johnson, Jay Cutler, and Marques Colston combined for 14 points. Cutler DID show us all why it may be tough for Kait to dominate like last last year- he is going to have a couple more performances similar to this week, which may hold her team down. Kait edges out Adam for best RB group in the league- Sproles, Mccoy, and Spiller all dominate and all are top 10 options for the next few weeks. 

4. Boston Patriots (last week #2)- The Boston Patriots only put up 102 points this week, but I expect week 2 to be season lows for both Peyton Manning and Julio Jones. Same deal as last week... this team, will be a force in the first half of the season, so wins need to pile up now for this team. It's going to be a battle in week 3. 

5. Tahiti Loungers (last week #3)- Well my team scored 86 points, the second-lowest in Loungers history. Of course, I was playing Dan. How did this happen? Well, the week started with Brandon Marshall somehow only scoring 4 points. Then, the lowlight of the weekend, Aaron Hernandez got hurt in the 1st quarter and exited the game with 0 points. Lance Moore, Dexter McCluster, and Eric Decker didn't really show up at all this week and Foster's 26 wasn't enough to save me. Ben Tate dominated on my bench and proved that there will be weeks where him and Foster are both startable. The return of Ryan Mathews is going to be the boost my team needs right now... a big matchup with Boston Patriots in week 3 will be a good battle. 

6. A Pinch Better (last week #8)- Well, I was wrong about this team saying they wouldn't top 130 again this season...that seems idiotic now that Sean put up 153 this week. Granted Eli Manning and Victor Cruz both had career games, but then again they will probably have a few more of these this season.  I still think this team is pretty thin and not going to hold up, but there always seems to be a team in the league I hate that does well. It's usually Dan's but it may be the other Cosgrove's this year. 

7. Crossing Guards (last week #9)- Bill responded with a huge win in week 2. Hakeem the dream Nicks carried the guards on his back this week...he scored 41... but with one more yard he would have boosted all the way up to 48. I have a feeling Percy Harvin is going to have a handful of similar games to this week... lots and lots of touches and yards. No TD this week but no mistake, Harvin is a PPR stud. Once Stafford starts heating up this team will likely rise in the standings.
 
8. Eat More Chicken (last week #6)- Jenna made a crazy run on Monday night and jumped from like 10 points all the way up to 135. The Matt Ryan- Roddy White connection looked great and unfortunately, Jenna had another really tough loss. I feel bad dropping her team 2 spots in the power rankings because the 135 would have beat most teams in the league this week, however this team is going to get crippled during bye weeks with no real fantasy starters available on the bench (Jeffery, Mendenhall, Randy Moss. Dalton and Rivers) . Jenna will start feeling that heat this week with the S-Jax injury.  Maybe it's time to unload your 3rd, useless QB. 




9. Comeback Story (last week #11)- Donny got lucky he caught his sister on a down week, but nonetheless comeback story scored a high total of 140 points. Danny Amendola's 41 points left on the bench kind of stings, he may be a better weekly option than the inconsistent Dwayne Bowe. The injury to Hernandez is a big bump for both Gronk and Lloyd. This team may rise in the rankings in the next few weeks, but the lack of any depth at rb is going to cost this team wins at some point. 
 
10. A1 Providers (last week #12)- Paul had a huge week. This is why Paul is in the league, because he gets crazy lucky sometimes. Even though it is a really weak roster, all the players contributed this week and V Jax actually had a 25 point performance. If Cedric Benson keeps looking as good as he did the other night that would really help this team, but Turner is just about dead, and who knows what the F is going on with Wes Welker this year. 

11. The Godfather (last week #7)- Another loss for Abe brings the 2012 rookie total to 0-4 (Jenna and Abe combined.) The disappearance of jamaal Charles is concerning... Abe's team needs that force at RB, especially with the loss/hampering injury to Ahmad Bradshaw. Greg Jennings needs to stay healthy and Tom Brady needs to escalate his play. If the studs Abe invested in actually play well, Abe will be fine. If they suck like htis week, it will be a long season. 

12. Angry Pirates (last week #10)-  Oh how the mighty hath fallen. This is the result when you get biggest blow out against you twice in the first 2 weeks. Campbell's disgrace of a roster wasted a heroic performance by Reggie Bush, who scored an impressive 40 points.  EVERYONE else was a letdown. 10 from Rodgers. 1 from Larry Fitz. 11 from AP. Aint going to hack it. Campbell has made early-season shake ups in the past... will he be looking to make a move sooner rather than later again this year?