Also See: Sunday Scene | Monday Brunch | Week 3 leaders

Last week I opened by talking about not overreacting to two weeks worth of data. I used an example of an owner in my buddy league contemplating sending me LaDainian Tomlinson for Terrell Owens – turns out that owner took exception to being called out for this and, in a huff of bravado not long after the column went live, he made that proposal official. And, although I quickly accepted that deal, I'll admit that the proposal wasn't that outrageous. I just don't think you bail out on the top pick in the draft after two sub-par weeks brought on by a turf toe – an injury that will soon subside.

There's an exception to almost every rule, though, and sometimes two weeks can be enough of an indicator of what's to come. (Enter Randy Moss). As Scott Pianowski pointed out in Monday Brunch, life after Tom Brady has been miserable for Moss. The Patriots have fastened the training wheels to Matt Cassel's right arm and he averaged just 4.2

Read More »from NFL Skinny: The king is dead …

Also See: Sunday Scene | Monday Brunch | Week 2 leaders

It's interesting how just two weeks can shake deep-rooted beliefs in fantasy football. On Sunday night, I was talking to a LaDainian Tomlinson owner in my "buddy" league who was more than half-seriously proposing me a LT for Terrell Owens deal. I had the feeling that if some of my other friends in the league weren't there to talk him off the ledge a bit, I might have been a Tomlinson owner as I sat down to pen this column.

This is the obligatory point of the column where I teach patience. I will allow that there are some tangible value trends to be gleaned in two games worth of evidence. But let's just take a quick snapshot at post-Week 2 from last year to get a perspective on how the picture can be incredibly muddled still at this point in time.

Through two weeks of '07, Edgerrin James and LaMont Jordan were running No. 1 and No. 2 at the running back position. Shaun Alexander, Rudi Johnson, Travis Henry, Carnell Williams,

Read More »from NFL Skinny: Shaking your foundation

Also See: Sunday Scene | Monday Brunch | Week 1 leaders

I don't know about you, but the beginning of each NFL regular season feels like "The Lottery." Not the "Powerball" kind, but the Shirley Jackson classic short story version, where a village holds a drawing each year to see which member of the community will get stoned to death as a sacrifice to ensure a good harvest. I go into each new season holding my breath that the fantasy football gods will spare my studs.

Sometimes the immolation comes early, like Jamal Anderson in '99 (Week 2). Sometimes the gods stretch the tension out a nerve-fraying seven weeks (Ronnie Brown, '07). But, make no mistake, there's no avoiding this annual sacrifice – someone is going to go down, and go down hard.

Obviously, we didn't have to wait long for the sacrificial offering of '08. By now, everyone is aware that a major knee injury against Kansas City on Sunday has knocked Tom Brady out for the season.

Read More »from NFL Skinny: The sea was angry

This past week, giants of the fantasy football community convened for the fifth annual Y! Friends and Family League draft – OK, maybe there were just two giants, Andy Behrens and Matt Romig. Have you seen those guys? They're both at least 6-foot-4 … skyscrapers from my perspective …

The overall mix included fantasy pundits from Yahoo! Sports, FantasyGuru.com, RotoWire.com, and RotoExperts.com, among others.

Unlike last season, when the first 19 picks hailed from the backfield, a half dozen receivers and, of course, Tom Brady cracked the top 20. Owners may not have reached as heavily early on for running backs but rookie RBs ultimately proved to be a hotter ticket than a Miley Cyrus concert. A total of eight first-year backs went among the top 87 picks, each going earlier than consensus ADP numbers would recommend.

• Here is a complete list of the Y! Friends and Family League draft results.

After the draft, I asked each participant two specific questions about their draft and also to

Read More »from Friends and Family: Dissecting the draft

In fantasy, it's better to be proactive than reactive. I say this as I consider Chris Carpenter's ownership rate in Yahoo! leagues – 45 percent. Clearly, many fantasy owners want to see how St. Louis' former ace looks in his return to the Cardinals on Wednesday, which will be his first Major League appearance in nearly 16 months because of Tommy John surgery. I'm assuming some are leery that Carpenter will be able to recapture much of the stuff that made him a 51-game winner for the Cards in the three seasons from '04-'06. I'm also assuming there are some that haven't yet realized that Carpenter is on the brink of a return. Regardless, there's a much slimmer chance that either group will be able to lay their hands on Carpenter if he comes out smoking against Atlanta on Wednesday – there'll no doubt be a fantasy feeding frenzy if that happens. So, for the next 48 hours, owners in more than half of Yahoo! leagues have a wide-open opportunity to take a small gamble – clearing a roster

Read More »from MLB Skinny: Ace in the hole

Like Francisco Liriano, Florida's Josh Johnson burst onto the major-league scene as a rookie in '06 (12-7, 3.10 ERA, 133 K, 157 IP) and then had his '07 season wiped out by Tommy John surgery. Unlike Liriano, though, Johnson has made his way back to professional baseball's highest level this month. While the fantasy world has waited with bated breath for Liriano's return, Johnson quietly made his '08 debut on July 10 (5 IP, 3 ER, 6 K, 0 BB) and then followed it up on Sunday with 6.2 innings of two-run ball – for those who are wondering, his fastball was clocked regularly in the mid-90s.

So far, only three percent of Yahoo! leagues have deemed his return worthy of a roster spot, while more than 40 percent of said leagues own the rights to Liriano's Triple-A numbers. It's understandable that Liriano is garnering more attention. But Johnson probably deserves more love. Said Marlins manager Fredi Gonzalez about Johnson's return, "We [improved] from within. For us, that's a CC Sabathia kind

Read More »from MLB Skinny: Big fish

Said Brewers GM Doug Melvin, after pulling a deal that landed C.C. Sabathia from Cleveland, "We're going for it …" In addition to Wrigleyville, St. Louis and the rest of the cities home to NL contenders, Melvin's words should resonate with fantasy owners as well. We're more than halfway through the season. If you have deals that need to be made, it's high time you figure out how to make them as opposed to waiting for some pre-determined August fantasy trade deadline. Melvin understood that if he was going to make a move for an ace, he might as well make it sooner rather than later to enjoy as much of the positive impact as possible. In fantasy, there's few problems that can't be fixed (assuming you have talent to deal) if you can make a move by mid-July. But waiting an extra month on top of that backs you up pretty firmly against the wall.

Let's take a look at July's movers and shakers before I heed my own advice and go look for some deals to make in a couple of my leagues:

BARGAIN BIN

Read More »from MLB Skinny: Go for it

A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. In other words, to quote the meaning from Phrases.org, "It's better to have a small actual advantage than the chance of a greater one." At this time of year, this cliché is applicable to fantasy baseball. In my AL LABR league this week, I've been sitting on my full allotment of free agency dollars (FAAB). My squad is contending for the league lead, but the David Ortiz injury really crippled my team's power output – now in the bottom two in home runs. So, with Texas prospect Chris Davis up for silent auction this week, I decided to make a can't-lose bid for his services. It cost me any chance at a star NL player that might move over to the AL prior to the trade deadline, but that's likely to be nearly a month from now, if it happens at all. Which brings me back to the bird in the hand thing … waiting for the dare-to-be-great situation leads to frustration and regret more often than not.

In the Yahoo! Friends and Family League, I cut myself

Read More »from MLB Skinny: A bird in the hand