Posts
By Rick Morris
As Ryan Isley and I said earlier tonight on our FDH LOUNGE program, veterans are among the greatest heroes walking the earth today. All of us living our lives away from the dangers they have faced on our behalf truly stand on their shoulders, as their willingness to shield us from the worst of humanity is inspirational beyond words.
This tribute symbolizes what they have done for us. God Bless them today and always.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
FDH Lounge Show #80: November 11, 2009
By Rick Morris
Our 80th episode of THE FDH LOUNGE (Wednesdays, 7-10 PM EDT on SportsTalkNetwork.com) demonstrates yet again why we say that our theme is "nothing is off-topic."
After The Opening Statements of The FDH Lounge Dignitaries and our look at This Week in The FDH Lounge, we bring back another episode of The FDH Lounge Pigskin Report with a look at pro football headlines. In the second half of Hour One, we welcome the chance to speak with Pat O’Conner, President of Minor League Baseball as he talks about continuing developments with the national pastime’s representation at the grass roots level.
Hour Two opens with a talk with new Philadelphia Phillies scout and former All-Star Phillies third baseman Dave Hollins. His observations on the recent baseball postseason will surely be interesting, especially in light of his 1993 World Series appearance with the Phils. Also, a late addition to the broadcast: Hollins' former teammate, another former Phillies third baseman and Big League Baseball Academy proprietor Charlie Hayes.
In the second half of the hour, we start our FANTASYDRAFTHELP.COM INSIDER a bit early as we bring you our college hoops team draft: a fantasy-sports style pool where we draft college basketball teams instead of individual players. Check out our scoring system and draft board from the FantasyDrafthelp.com blog.
In Hour Three, the INSIDER continues with a fantasy football stretch run preview with Steve Schwartz of SportsNetwork.com. We'll subsequently break down NFL Week 10 before we then bring on KFFL Managing Editor Bryce McRae for his thoughts on the fantasy football landscape. We wrap with our other show-within-a-show, THE GOON SQUAD, and a look at the present NHL standings and Monday night's inductions into the Hockey Hall of Fame (including the one and only Stevie Y!).
As always, we urge you to watch the show live (or listen if you’re on dial-up), but if you can’t catch this as it’s happening, you can always catch the FDH archives 24-7 right here or catch us now on iTunes!
Our 80th episode of THE FDH LOUNGE (Wednesdays, 7-10 PM EDT on SportsTalkNetwork.com) demonstrates yet again why we say that our theme is "nothing is off-topic."
After The Opening Statements of The FDH Lounge Dignitaries and our look at This Week in The FDH Lounge, we bring back another episode of The FDH Lounge Pigskin Report with a look at pro football headlines. In the second half of Hour One, we welcome the chance to speak with Pat O’Conner, President of Minor League Baseball as he talks about continuing developments with the national pastime’s representation at the grass roots level.
Hour Two opens with a talk with new Philadelphia Phillies scout and former All-Star Phillies third baseman Dave Hollins. His observations on the recent baseball postseason will surely be interesting, especially in light of his 1993 World Series appearance with the Phils. Also, a late addition to the broadcast: Hollins' former teammate, another former Phillies third baseman and Big League Baseball Academy proprietor Charlie Hayes.
In the second half of the hour, we start our FANTASYDRAFTHELP.COM INSIDER a bit early as we bring you our college hoops team draft: a fantasy-sports style pool where we draft college basketball teams instead of individual players. Check out our scoring system and draft board from the FantasyDrafthelp.com blog.
In Hour Three, the INSIDER continues with a fantasy football stretch run preview with Steve Schwartz of SportsNetwork.com. We'll subsequently break down NFL Week 10 before we then bring on KFFL Managing Editor Bryce McRae for his thoughts on the fantasy football landscape. We wrap with our other show-within-a-show, THE GOON SQUAD, and a look at the present NHL standings and Monday night's inductions into the Hockey Hall of Fame (including the one and only Stevie Y!).
As always, we urge you to watch the show live (or listen if you’re on dial-up), but if you can’t catch this as it’s happening, you can always catch the FDH archives 24-7 right here or catch us now on iTunes!
NFL Week Ten power rankings
By Rick Morris
NOTE: Previous ratings in parentheses.
FIRST TIER: PLAYOFF LOCKS
1 New Orleans (1)
2 Minnesota (3)
3 Indianapolis (2)
4 Pittsburgh (4)
5 New England (5)
SECOND TIER: PLAYOFF CONTENDERS
6 Denver (6)
7 Atlanta (11)
8 Dallas (10)
9 Cincinnati (12)
10 Philadelphia (7)
11 Arizona (14)
12 NY Giants (8)
13 San Diego (16)
14 Baltimore (9)
15 Houston (13)
THIRD TIER: DISTANT PLAYOFF POSSIBILITIES
16 NY Jets (15)
17 Miami (17)
18 Green Bay (18)
19 Chicago (19)
20 Jacksonville (24)
FOURTH TIER: VERY BAD, BUT NOT THE WORST
21 Carolina (21)
22 San Francisco (20)
23 Buffalo (22)
24 Seattle (23)
25 Washington (25)
FIFTH TIER: TEAMS WITHOUT ANY REDEEMING VALUE WHATSOEVER
26 Tennessee (26)
27 Kansas City (27)
28 Oakland (28)
29 St. Louis (29)
30 Detroit (30)
31 Tampa Bay (32)
32 Cleveland (31)
BIGGEST RISERS: Atlanta and Jacksonville (4 spots), Arizona, Cincinnati and San Diego (3 spots)
BIGGEST FALLERS: Philadelphia (3 spots), NY Giants (4 spots), Baltimore (5 spots)
NOTE: Previous ratings in parentheses.
FIRST TIER: PLAYOFF LOCKS
1 New Orleans (1)
2 Minnesota (3)
3 Indianapolis (2)
4 Pittsburgh (4)
5 New England (5)
SECOND TIER: PLAYOFF CONTENDERS
6 Denver (6)
7 Atlanta (11)
8 Dallas (10)
9 Cincinnati (12)
10 Philadelphia (7)
11 Arizona (14)
12 NY Giants (8)
13 San Diego (16)
14 Baltimore (9)
15 Houston (13)
THIRD TIER: DISTANT PLAYOFF POSSIBILITIES
16 NY Jets (15)
17 Miami (17)
18 Green Bay (18)
19 Chicago (19)
20 Jacksonville (24)
FOURTH TIER: VERY BAD, BUT NOT THE WORST
21 Carolina (21)
22 San Francisco (20)
23 Buffalo (22)
24 Seattle (23)
25 Washington (25)
FIFTH TIER: TEAMS WITHOUT ANY REDEEMING VALUE WHATSOEVER
26 Tennessee (26)
27 Kansas City (27)
28 Oakland (28)
29 St. Louis (29)
30 Detroit (30)
31 Tampa Bay (32)
32 Cleveland (31)
BIGGEST RISERS: Atlanta and Jacksonville (4 spots), Arizona, Cincinnati and San Diego (3 spots)
BIGGEST FALLERS: Philadelphia (3 spots), NY Giants (4 spots), Baltimore (5 spots)
Monday, November 9, 2009
The fall of the Berlin Wall - the moment of a lifetime
By Rick Morris
For a child of the Cold War like me, the fall of the Berlin Wall was unthinkable. Regardless of the political liberalization in Eastern Europe in 1989, that one seemingly unassailable symbol of communist hegemony loomed larger than life -- and after the Chinese government cracked down in such cruel and inhuman fashion mere months earlier. It was the site of Ronald Reagan's seemingly futile challenge to the Soviet Union to "tear down this wall" a mere 2 1/2 years earlier.
But on November 9, 1989, it happened.
Whether by accident or design, the East German officials communicated to the public, almost in passing, that travel restrictions were being lifted. A mass of humanity descended on the Wall and unlike what had happened months earlier in Beijing, senior officials were unwilling to order the authorities on the scene to use lethal force to put down the uprising.
So the people called the bluff and before you knew it, people were going through the border passings, climbing up on the Wall itself and essentially a mass party broke out in front of cameras beaming the scene worldwide.
Check out the prescient opening statement from this CBC piece on that night.
Sensing the end was near, a good friend and I grabbed some Stoli and headed to his apartment to watch it all unfold on TV (for whatever reason, I also remember that we saw the episode of Cheers that night in which Carla was widowed when her husband was run over with a Zamboni). Unfortunately for me, I then had to put in an overnight shift at the school newspaper supervising the layout of the sports section, but I survived my youthful overindulgence in heroic fashion!
But all in all, that night was completely unforgettable to me. For my money, we have never seen a moment like that and we never will again (if only because it would seem like a pale imitation of the first time): the world's foremost physical symbol of tyranny being toppled live in front of the world as a vast populace celebrates newfound freedom in real time. Growing up as a child with distant relatives behind the Iron Curtain, hearing stories of how my great-aunt would send one box of shoes to Poland with only left shoes and one with only right shoes so that the totalitarians in the government would not be easily able to loot the contents -- suffice it to say that I never could have imagined the crumbling of that era, much less the way that it actually unfolded.
Quite simply, it's one of the most inspirational and memorable moments in human history. May it inspire us to resist the overbearing efforts of government whenever they arise.
For a child of the Cold War like me, the fall of the Berlin Wall was unthinkable. Regardless of the political liberalization in Eastern Europe in 1989, that one seemingly unassailable symbol of communist hegemony loomed larger than life -- and after the Chinese government cracked down in such cruel and inhuman fashion mere months earlier. It was the site of Ronald Reagan's seemingly futile challenge to the Soviet Union to "tear down this wall" a mere 2 1/2 years earlier.
But on November 9, 1989, it happened.
Whether by accident or design, the East German officials communicated to the public, almost in passing, that travel restrictions were being lifted. A mass of humanity descended on the Wall and unlike what had happened months earlier in Beijing, senior officials were unwilling to order the authorities on the scene to use lethal force to put down the uprising.
So the people called the bluff and before you knew it, people were going through the border passings, climbing up on the Wall itself and essentially a mass party broke out in front of cameras beaming the scene worldwide.
Check out the prescient opening statement from this CBC piece on that night.
Sensing the end was near, a good friend and I grabbed some Stoli and headed to his apartment to watch it all unfold on TV (for whatever reason, I also remember that we saw the episode of Cheers that night in which Carla was widowed when her husband was run over with a Zamboni). Unfortunately for me, I then had to put in an overnight shift at the school newspaper supervising the layout of the sports section, but I survived my youthful overindulgence in heroic fashion!
But all in all, that night was completely unforgettable to me. For my money, we have never seen a moment like that and we never will again (if only because it would seem like a pale imitation of the first time): the world's foremost physical symbol of tyranny being toppled live in front of the world as a vast populace celebrates newfound freedom in real time. Growing up as a child with distant relatives behind the Iron Curtain, hearing stories of how my great-aunt would send one box of shoes to Poland with only left shoes and one with only right shoes so that the totalitarians in the government would not be easily able to loot the contents -- suffice it to say that I never could have imagined the crumbling of that era, much less the way that it actually unfolded.
Quite simply, it's one of the most inspirational and memorable moments in human history. May it inspire us to resist the overbearing efforts of government whenever they arise.
Stevie Y goes into the Hall of Fame tonight
By Rick Morris
My all-time favorite athlete and the reason I started following hockey in the first place, Steve Yzerman, took his rightful place in the Hockey Hall of Fame tonight. Beneath this highlight video of ten of his greatest NHL goals, I will reprint my tribute to him that I wrote for the FantasyDrafthelp.com blog when he retired in 2006.
"Steve Yzerman retired yesterday. He is my favorite athlete of all time in any sport and I feel it necessary to add to the tributes coming his way at this time.
Before I add my personal perspectives, I would like to mention why he is my favorite. He had outstanding God-given talent, but also radiated class and became, in my opinion, the greatest leader in team sports. His two decades with the captain's "C" set a record by quite a wide margin, one that I believe will never be approached, much less surpassed. Hockey players as a whole tend to be the humblest and classiest in team sports and Steve Yzerman exemplified that better than most. I do not believe that we will see anyone quite like him ever again.
I was not a fan of hockey until my freshman year of college in 1987. Growing up in the Cleveland area, where the media coverage of the NHL has always been woeful, I was simply not exposed to the greatness of the game. But working at public radio station WOUB in Athens, Ohio, I began to read about and see footage in the newsroom of the guy in Detroit with the odd-spelled name and the incredible scoring moves. I quickly began to wonder why he was so obscured by Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux, because his numbers and his play didn't deserve to be hidden in the shadows. Singlehandedly, he made me a fan of the Winged Wheel and the game of hockey.
As he grew as a player, embracing the role of captain and the greater emphasis on two-way play mandated by Scotty Bowman in the '90s, I suffered through the team's playoff setbacks. On a shuttle ride at the airport back in those days, an AHL player who struck up a conversation with me upon spotting my Wings jacket told me that the hot rumor was that Yzerman was soon to be traded to Ottawa. It seemed that the man and the team would never get what they deserved.
And then, in 1997, 10 years into my awareness and appreciation of this man and this franchise, they ended the 42-year drought and captured the Stanley Cup. To this day, my favorite video to pop into the VCR remains the postgame footage after Game 4 when Stevie Y accepted the Cup from Gary Bettman and performed his victory lap around Joe Louis Arena. I do not lightly lump in sports events with the greatest moments of my life, but I make an exception for that night, June 7, 1997. That was one of the greatest moments of my life.
Within a week the victory would be overshadowed dramatically by the car crash that would leave team trainer Sergei Mnatsakanov and defensive franchise player Vladimir Konstantinov fighting for their lives. With their friends permanently out of the game, the team went on one of the greatest inspirational runs in the history of sports in the spring of 1998 and successfully defended their title. The on-ice celebration was even more stirring this time, as Stevie cut short his victory skate with the Cup to place it in the lap of Vladdie as the players wheeled him around the ice. They validated their slogan of "Believe," which conveyed their desire to win for their fallen friends.
More playoff disappointments would come before the final Stanley Cup win of the Yzerman era in 2002. The 7-0 pounding of Colorado in Game Seven of the Western Conference Finals provided a fitting coda to the playoff rivalry with the Avs -- a feud that was arguably the most heated in sports at the time. All throughout the playoffs, Steve Yzerman skated on a knee so shattered that he needed to be shot up like a racehorse and taped tightly before every game. The surgical path he chose had ended the career of every player who had suffered through it. But Steve Yzerman became the first man to come back from it. I think I can speak for all of his fans when I say that we never really had a doubt that he would be that pioneer. It just fit who he is.
Throughout his career, he battled injuries, including various knee problems. He not only never complained, he sought to downplay the severity of them and the extent of the sacrifices he made for his team. To the end, his main concern was what was best for the team. He concluded, sadly, that the uncertainty about how his body would hold up next season would outweigh the solid production that he could still provide when healthy.
Having come to my appreciation of #19 in my own way, imagine my surprise when I read an account that eerily mimicked my circumstances. It's from John Buccigross of ESPN:
'When I was senior at Heidelberg College, I cut a 2-inch by 1-inch picture of Steve Yzerman out of the newspaper and hung it on my dormitory door. I wasn't a Wings fan and had never seen Yzerman play. This was the mid-80's, I lived in Eastern Ohio, and the NHL was on SportsChannel. I wasn't one of the 47 people who had that network as part of their cable package. But his eyes mesmerized me. I thought, this is a person who has big dreams. Big visions. He has a plan and a focus to see it through and stick it out. I knew nothing about him, had never seen or heard him speak, but something moved me to hang that picture on my door as inspiration that life's biggest joys and awards come from dealing with and overcoming pain and discomfort. Those eyes said, 'Nothing good comes easy.' Have a vision and stick it out.'
That anecodote is part of a larger story on The Captain here, behind the ESPN Insider wall. It's great writing from a powerful wordsmith and fan of professional hockey.
The best way to sum up what he means to his fans is this: the best word that comes to mind when we think of his is "respect." The Canadian Olympic team chose to vacate the #19 during the Turin Games when Yzerman withdrew from the team for health reasons -- and that's saying quite a bit, because so many players of this generation wear that number out of respect for him. Respect, there's that word again. And as the Red Wings have become over the last decade hockey's version of the New York Yankees, the single most polarizing force in the sport, rarely if ever will you hear opposing fans speaking ill of Stevie Franchise. They will bash the ownership, or other Wings players, or Wings coaches, but not The Man. They know in their heart of hearts that they would kill to have him wearing their colors -- and we who love him know how fortunate we were that he wore ours.
Doubtless Steve Yzerman is befuddled by the response his departure from the ice is evoking. That's part of his charm. In a day and age of entitlement, he not only acted devoid of ego, but was embarrassed when he received the acclaim he deserved. But it's important that his fans have this chance to relive the great moments he provided to us, because it helps take the sting out of the moment we all knew we would face someday but dreaded nonetheless."
Congratulations on your well-deserved reward, Number 19.
My all-time favorite athlete and the reason I started following hockey in the first place, Steve Yzerman, took his rightful place in the Hockey Hall of Fame tonight. Beneath this highlight video of ten of his greatest NHL goals, I will reprint my tribute to him that I wrote for the FantasyDrafthelp.com blog when he retired in 2006.
"Steve Yzerman retired yesterday. He is my favorite athlete of all time in any sport and I feel it necessary to add to the tributes coming his way at this time.
Before I add my personal perspectives, I would like to mention why he is my favorite. He had outstanding God-given talent, but also radiated class and became, in my opinion, the greatest leader in team sports. His two decades with the captain's "C" set a record by quite a wide margin, one that I believe will never be approached, much less surpassed. Hockey players as a whole tend to be the humblest and classiest in team sports and Steve Yzerman exemplified that better than most. I do not believe that we will see anyone quite like him ever again.
I was not a fan of hockey until my freshman year of college in 1987. Growing up in the Cleveland area, where the media coverage of the NHL has always been woeful, I was simply not exposed to the greatness of the game. But working at public radio station WOUB in Athens, Ohio, I began to read about and see footage in the newsroom of the guy in Detroit with the odd-spelled name and the incredible scoring moves. I quickly began to wonder why he was so obscured by Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux, because his numbers and his play didn't deserve to be hidden in the shadows. Singlehandedly, he made me a fan of the Winged Wheel and the game of hockey.
As he grew as a player, embracing the role of captain and the greater emphasis on two-way play mandated by Scotty Bowman in the '90s, I suffered through the team's playoff setbacks. On a shuttle ride at the airport back in those days, an AHL player who struck up a conversation with me upon spotting my Wings jacket told me that the hot rumor was that Yzerman was soon to be traded to Ottawa. It seemed that the man and the team would never get what they deserved.
And then, in 1997, 10 years into my awareness and appreciation of this man and this franchise, they ended the 42-year drought and captured the Stanley Cup. To this day, my favorite video to pop into the VCR remains the postgame footage after Game 4 when Stevie Y accepted the Cup from Gary Bettman and performed his victory lap around Joe Louis Arena. I do not lightly lump in sports events with the greatest moments of my life, but I make an exception for that night, June 7, 1997. That was one of the greatest moments of my life.
Within a week the victory would be overshadowed dramatically by the car crash that would leave team trainer Sergei Mnatsakanov and defensive franchise player Vladimir Konstantinov fighting for their lives. With their friends permanently out of the game, the team went on one of the greatest inspirational runs in the history of sports in the spring of 1998 and successfully defended their title. The on-ice celebration was even more stirring this time, as Stevie cut short his victory skate with the Cup to place it in the lap of Vladdie as the players wheeled him around the ice. They validated their slogan of "Believe," which conveyed their desire to win for their fallen friends.
More playoff disappointments would come before the final Stanley Cup win of the Yzerman era in 2002. The 7-0 pounding of Colorado in Game Seven of the Western Conference Finals provided a fitting coda to the playoff rivalry with the Avs -- a feud that was arguably the most heated in sports at the time. All throughout the playoffs, Steve Yzerman skated on a knee so shattered that he needed to be shot up like a racehorse and taped tightly before every game. The surgical path he chose had ended the career of every player who had suffered through it. But Steve Yzerman became the first man to come back from it. I think I can speak for all of his fans when I say that we never really had a doubt that he would be that pioneer. It just fit who he is.
Throughout his career, he battled injuries, including various knee problems. He not only never complained, he sought to downplay the severity of them and the extent of the sacrifices he made for his team. To the end, his main concern was what was best for the team. He concluded, sadly, that the uncertainty about how his body would hold up next season would outweigh the solid production that he could still provide when healthy.
Having come to my appreciation of #19 in my own way, imagine my surprise when I read an account that eerily mimicked my circumstances. It's from John Buccigross of ESPN:
'When I was senior at Heidelberg College, I cut a 2-inch by 1-inch picture of Steve Yzerman out of the newspaper and hung it on my dormitory door. I wasn't a Wings fan and had never seen Yzerman play. This was the mid-80's, I lived in Eastern Ohio, and the NHL was on SportsChannel. I wasn't one of the 47 people who had that network as part of their cable package. But his eyes mesmerized me. I thought, this is a person who has big dreams. Big visions. He has a plan and a focus to see it through and stick it out. I knew nothing about him, had never seen or heard him speak, but something moved me to hang that picture on my door as inspiration that life's biggest joys and awards come from dealing with and overcoming pain and discomfort. Those eyes said, 'Nothing good comes easy.' Have a vision and stick it out.'
That anecodote is part of a larger story on The Captain here, behind the ESPN Insider wall. It's great writing from a powerful wordsmith and fan of professional hockey.
The best way to sum up what he means to his fans is this: the best word that comes to mind when we think of his is "respect." The Canadian Olympic team chose to vacate the #19 during the Turin Games when Yzerman withdrew from the team for health reasons -- and that's saying quite a bit, because so many players of this generation wear that number out of respect for him. Respect, there's that word again. And as the Red Wings have become over the last decade hockey's version of the New York Yankees, the single most polarizing force in the sport, rarely if ever will you hear opposing fans speaking ill of Stevie Franchise. They will bash the ownership, or other Wings players, or Wings coaches, but not The Man. They know in their heart of hearts that they would kill to have him wearing their colors -- and we who love him know how fortunate we were that he wore ours.
Doubtless Steve Yzerman is befuddled by the response his departure from the ice is evoking. That's part of his charm. In a day and age of entitlement, he not only acted devoid of ego, but was embarrassed when he received the acclaim he deserved. But it's important that his fans have this chance to relive the great moments he provided to us, because it helps take the sting out of the moment we all knew we would face someday but dreaded nonetheless."
Congratulations on your well-deserved reward, Number 19.
RIP Captain Lou Albano
By Rick Morris
I regret that we did not get around to posting this sooner, but we do want to pay tribute to one of the greatest pro wrestling managers of all time, Captain Lou Albano, who recently passed away.
His antics were a natural bridge between the old days of territorial wrestling and the new era of "sports entertainment" that materialized in the mid-1980s. He is one of the few figures that the business has ever had with substantial name recognition even among non-wrestling fans.
Of course, he started his career as a wrestler before Bruno Sammartino saw his potential as a manager. This clip showing him in a rare late-career match against Superfly Jimmy Snuka in 1982 shows what a great all-around performer he really was.
Lou Albano was an outstanding entertainer, a successful fundraiser for charitable causes and a man much beloved by his peers -- a man of great character. RIP, Captain Lou.
I regret that we did not get around to posting this sooner, but we do want to pay tribute to one of the greatest pro wrestling managers of all time, Captain Lou Albano, who recently passed away.
His antics were a natural bridge between the old days of territorial wrestling and the new era of "sports entertainment" that materialized in the mid-1980s. He is one of the few figures that the business has ever had with substantial name recognition even among non-wrestling fans.
Of course, he started his career as a wrestler before Bruno Sammartino saw his potential as a manager. This clip showing him in a rare late-career match against Superfly Jimmy Snuka in 1982 shows what a great all-around performer he really was.
Lou Albano was an outstanding entertainer, a successful fundraiser for charitable causes and a man much beloved by his peers -- a man of great character. RIP, Captain Lou.
Sunday, November 8, 2009
NFL picks Week Nine
By Rick Morris
In addition to posting my weekly picks, I will post those from other members of The FDH Lounge Dignitaries' Football Challenge Contest. Each week, we will single out our three strongest plays.
STEVE CIRVELLO (2-1 last week, 15-9 overall)
Atlanta -9 over Washington
Green Bay -9 1/2 over Tampa Bay
Seattle -10 over Detroit
RICK MORRIS (2-1 last week, 1-0 with my best pick, 14-10 overall, 5-3 on best picks)
New York Giants -4 1/2 over San Diego (my 1,000-Star, Gold-Plated Lock of the Millennium for this week)
San Francisco -4 over Tennessee
Atlanta -9 over Washington
SEAN TRENCH (2-1 last week, 12-11-1 overall)
New York Giants -4 1/2 over San Diego
Green Bay -9 1/2 over Tampa Bay
San Francisco -4 over Tennessee
DAVE ADAMS (1-2 last week, 11-13 overall)
Miami +10 1/2 over New England
Tennessee +4 over San Francisco
Denver +3 over Pittsburgh
RYAN ISLEY (1-2 last week, 11-13 overall): Ryan's picks are pending; we trust him even if they come in late!
My remaining picks (7-6 last week, 59-54-1 overall)
Kansas City +7 over Jacksonville
Baltimore -3 over Cincinnati
Houston +9 over Indianapolis
Tampa Bay +9 1/2 over Green Bay
Arizona +3 over Chicago
Miami +10 1/2 over New England
Carolina +13 over New Orleans
Seattle -10 over Detroit
Dallas +3 over Philadelphia
Pittsburgh -3 over Denver
In addition to posting my weekly picks, I will post those from other members of The FDH Lounge Dignitaries' Football Challenge Contest. Each week, we will single out our three strongest plays.
STEVE CIRVELLO (2-1 last week, 15-9 overall)
Atlanta -9 over Washington
Green Bay -9 1/2 over Tampa Bay
Seattle -10 over Detroit
RICK MORRIS (2-1 last week, 1-0 with my best pick, 14-10 overall, 5-3 on best picks)
New York Giants -4 1/2 over San Diego (my 1,000-Star, Gold-Plated Lock of the Millennium for this week)
San Francisco -4 over Tennessee
Atlanta -9 over Washington
SEAN TRENCH (2-1 last week, 12-11-1 overall)
New York Giants -4 1/2 over San Diego
Green Bay -9 1/2 over Tampa Bay
San Francisco -4 over Tennessee
DAVE ADAMS (1-2 last week, 11-13 overall)
Miami +10 1/2 over New England
Tennessee +4 over San Francisco
Denver +3 over Pittsburgh
RYAN ISLEY (1-2 last week, 11-13 overall): Ryan's picks are pending; we trust him even if they come in late!
My remaining picks (7-6 last week, 59-54-1 overall)
Kansas City +7 over Jacksonville
Baltimore -3 over Cincinnati
Houston +9 over Indianapolis
Tampa Bay +9 1/2 over Green Bay
Arizona +3 over Chicago
Miami +10 1/2 over New England
Carolina +13 over New Orleans
Seattle -10 over Detroit
Dallas +3 over Philadelphia
Pittsburgh -3 over Denver
Saturday, November 7, 2009
FDH Fantasy Newsletter: Volume II, Issue XLIV
By Rick Morris
For the most part, we keep our fantasy content on our fantasy website and fantasy blog and keep this site for content on all subjects. It allows our readers to find specific content more easily that way. However, it has come to our attention that because our new fantasy sports newsletter is published on the older Blogger platform that our readers may be limited in their ability to subscribe to it. There does not appear to be a way to have content on the FantasyDrafthelp.com blog forwarded to an aggregate news reader -- however, we know that we have that ability here. So we will link to that newsletter each week right here when it is published. Here is this week's newsletter.
For the most part, we keep our fantasy content on our fantasy website and fantasy blog and keep this site for content on all subjects. It allows our readers to find specific content more easily that way. However, it has come to our attention that because our new fantasy sports newsletter is published on the older Blogger platform that our readers may be limited in their ability to subscribe to it. There does not appear to be a way to have content on the FantasyDrafthelp.com blog forwarded to an aggregate news reader -- however, we know that we have that ability here. So we will link to that newsletter each week right here when it is published. Here is this week's newsletter.
Friday, November 6, 2009
NCAA football picks Week Ten
By Rick Morris
Last week 2-3, 26-28-1 on the season. Stop complaining, you're barely down the juice!
This week:
Ohio State +5 1/2 over Penn State
LSU +7 1/2 over Alabama
Purdue +6 over Michigan
UCLA -5 over Washington
Arkansas -7 over South Carolina
Last week 2-3, 26-28-1 on the season. Stop complaining, you're barely down the juice!
This week:
Ohio State +5 1/2 over Penn State
LSU +7 1/2 over Alabama
Purdue +6 over Michigan
UCLA -5 over Washington
Arkansas -7 over South Carolina
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
FDH Lounge Show #79: November 4, 2009
By Rick Morris
So as not to violate any trademarks or be too cheesy, we won’t refer to the 79th edition of THE FDH LOUNGE (Wednesdays, 7-10 PM EDT on SportsTalkNetwork.com) as “the best there is, the best there was and the best there ever will be” – but we could!
That’s because, if you hadn’t guessed already, we come right out of the box with an interview with legendary wrestler Bret “Hitman” Hart. His autobiography “Hitman: My Real Life in the Cartoon World of Wrestling” was released in paperback in the US this week and we will be speaking with him for the first half of Hour One about his experiences and his thoughts on the industry where he earned his fame.
Then, we belatedly come back with our Opening Statements from The FDH Lounge Dignitaries and our look at This Week in The FDH Lounge before we speak with Huffington Post Senior Congressional Correspondent Ryan Grim, author of This Is Your Country on Drugs: The Secret History of Getting High in America.
In Hour Two, we are pleased to welcome Time Senior Editor Richard Zoglin, author of “Comedy at the Edge: How Stand-Up in the 1970s Changed America.” He traces the post-Lenny Bruce comedians through the transitional decade that altered not only the industry but the greater entertainment world as well. We’ll talk to him about what that time was like and all of the fascinating creatures covered in his book – names including, but not limited to: Carlin, Pryor, Leno, Letterman, Williams, Kaufman, Martin and Klein.
From there, our FDH Lounge Pigskin Report examines the BCS rankings in college football and what they tell us about the bowl matchups we are likely to see – as well as the horrific Cleveland Browns coaching/organizational situation and our latest FDH NFL Power Rankings.
In Hour Three, THE FANTASYDRAFTHELP.COM INSIDER breaks down NFL Week 9 and we then bring on KFFL Senior Editor Cory J. Bonini for his thoughts on the fantasy football landscape. We wrap with our other show-within-a-show, THE GOON SQUAD, and a look at the present NHL standings. We’ll then break down some controversial thoughts from ESPN’s John Buccigross about the Red Wings’ Eurotwins supposedly having their best days behind them! Not surprisingly, such thoughts are being dismissed as absurd across the blogosphere. Also, the player being hailed as the potential “savior” of one of the league’s signature franchises made his debut with the team Tuesday night. Although his Leafs lost 2-1 to the lowly Lightning, Phil Kessel was named as the third star of the game. We’ll discuss his anticipated impact over the next few years.
As always, we urge you to watch the show live (or listen if you’re on dial-up), but if you can’t catch this as it’s happening, you can always catch the FDH archives 24-7 right here or catch us now on iTunes!
So as not to violate any trademarks or be too cheesy, we won’t refer to the 79th edition of THE FDH LOUNGE (Wednesdays, 7-10 PM EDT on SportsTalkNetwork.com) as “the best there is, the best there was and the best there ever will be” – but we could!
That’s because, if you hadn’t guessed already, we come right out of the box with an interview with legendary wrestler Bret “Hitman” Hart. His autobiography “Hitman: My Real Life in the Cartoon World of Wrestling” was released in paperback in the US this week and we will be speaking with him for the first half of Hour One about his experiences and his thoughts on the industry where he earned his fame.
Then, we belatedly come back with our Opening Statements from The FDH Lounge Dignitaries and our look at This Week in The FDH Lounge before we speak with Huffington Post Senior Congressional Correspondent Ryan Grim, author of This Is Your Country on Drugs: The Secret History of Getting High in America.
In Hour Two, we are pleased to welcome Time Senior Editor Richard Zoglin, author of “Comedy at the Edge: How Stand-Up in the 1970s Changed America.” He traces the post-Lenny Bruce comedians through the transitional decade that altered not only the industry but the greater entertainment world as well. We’ll talk to him about what that time was like and all of the fascinating creatures covered in his book – names including, but not limited to: Carlin, Pryor, Leno, Letterman, Williams, Kaufman, Martin and Klein.
From there, our FDH Lounge Pigskin Report examines the BCS rankings in college football and what they tell us about the bowl matchups we are likely to see – as well as the horrific Cleveland Browns coaching/organizational situation and our latest FDH NFL Power Rankings.
In Hour Three, THE FANTASYDRAFTHELP.COM INSIDER breaks down NFL Week 9 and we then bring on KFFL Senior Editor Cory J. Bonini for his thoughts on the fantasy football landscape. We wrap with our other show-within-a-show, THE GOON SQUAD, and a look at the present NHL standings. We’ll then break down some controversial thoughts from ESPN’s John Buccigross about the Red Wings’ Eurotwins supposedly having their best days behind them! Not surprisingly, such thoughts are being dismissed as absurd across the blogosphere. Also, the player being hailed as the potential “savior” of one of the league’s signature franchises made his debut with the team Tuesday night. Although his Leafs lost 2-1 to the lowly Lightning, Phil Kessel was named as the third star of the game. We’ll discuss his anticipated impact over the next few years.
As always, we urge you to watch the show live (or listen if you’re on dial-up), but if you can’t catch this as it’s happening, you can always catch the FDH archives 24-7 right here or catch us now on iTunes!
NFL Week Nine power rankings
By Rick Morris
NOTE: Previous ratings in parentheses.
FIRST TIER: PLAYOFF LOCKS
1 New Orleans (1)
2 Indianapolis (2)
3 Minnesota (3)
4 Pittsburgh (6)
5 New England (7)
6 Denver (4)
SECOND TIER: PLAYOFF CONTENDERS
7 Philadelphia (13)
8 NY Giants (5)
9 Baltimore (12)
10 Dallas (10)
11 Atlanta (8)
12 Cincinnati (11)
THIRD TIER: OTHER PLAYOFF POSSIBILITIES
13 Houston (15)
14 Arizona (9)
15 NY Jets (16)
16 San Diego (18)
17 Miami (19)
18 Green Bay (14)
19 Chicago (17)
20 San Francisco (20)
21 Carolina (24)
FOURTH TIER: VERY BAD, BUT NOT THE WORST
22 Buffalo (23)
23 Seattle (21)
24 Jacksonville (22)
25 Washington (25)
FIFTH TIER: TEAMS WITHOUT ANY REDEEMING VALUE WHATSOEVER
26 Tennessee (28)
27 Kansas City (29)
28 Oakland (27)
29 St. Louis (32)
30 Detroit (26)
31 Cleveland (30)
32 Tampa Bay (31)
BIGGEST RISERS: Philadelphia (6 spots), Baltimore, Carolina and St. Louis (3 spots)
BIGGEST FALLERS: Arizona (5 spots), Detroit and Green Bay (4 spots), Atlanta and New York Giants (3 spots)
NOTE: Previous ratings in parentheses.
FIRST TIER: PLAYOFF LOCKS
1 New Orleans (1)
2 Indianapolis (2)
3 Minnesota (3)
4 Pittsburgh (6)
5 New England (7)
6 Denver (4)
SECOND TIER: PLAYOFF CONTENDERS
7 Philadelphia (13)
8 NY Giants (5)
9 Baltimore (12)
10 Dallas (10)
11 Atlanta (8)
12 Cincinnati (11)
THIRD TIER: OTHER PLAYOFF POSSIBILITIES
13 Houston (15)
14 Arizona (9)
15 NY Jets (16)
16 San Diego (18)
17 Miami (19)
18 Green Bay (14)
19 Chicago (17)
20 San Francisco (20)
21 Carolina (24)
FOURTH TIER: VERY BAD, BUT NOT THE WORST
22 Buffalo (23)
23 Seattle (21)
24 Jacksonville (22)
25 Washington (25)
FIFTH TIER: TEAMS WITHOUT ANY REDEEMING VALUE WHATSOEVER
26 Tennessee (28)
27 Kansas City (29)
28 Oakland (27)
29 St. Louis (32)
30 Detroit (26)
31 Cleveland (30)
32 Tampa Bay (31)
BIGGEST RISERS: Philadelphia (6 spots), Baltimore, Carolina and St. Louis (3 spots)
BIGGEST FALLERS: Arizona (5 spots), Detroit and Green Bay (4 spots), Atlanta and New York Giants (3 spots)
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