8 Fantasy Football Tips Everybody Should Know

Source

1. DO NOT start a Defense that is matched up against your Quarter-Back (QB): Think about it.   You would be chipping away points from your own point total.  It's not logical.  Think about it some more.  When your QB scores a TD you'll earn, we'll say 6 points.  But your defense will lose about 3 points because of the points allowed (PA) category.  In other words, you're taking 2 steps forward and one step back. EX: Don't start the Steelers Defense if you plan on starting Peyton Manning.

source

2. Drafting the right Quarter-Back (QB): I honestly think the QB position is the most important.  However, that doesn't mean you have to draft a QB first.  When drafting a QB, pick one that throws often and accurately.  Obviously, these are important and a no huddle offense helps too (increased snaps lead to an increase in throws).  More importantly, draft a QB that is on a team with a poor running game.  A poor running game means more play action.  More play action means more throws for your QB.  The only exception to this rule is if the RB has high yardage after the catch or if the offense runs a lot of screen passes because your QB still get points in that case.  EX: Aaron Rodger is a great QB on a team with a poor running game.

source

3. Drafting the right kicker: The kicker slot is just as important as any other slot.  Sure, you can't expect him to get 20 points a game but the difference between averaging 3 points per game and 12 points per game can make a huge difference.  Even more important, if your kicker scores 12 points per game consistently (9 points more realistically), the probability of scoring 15-20 point outliers is way higher.  So when you pick a kicker, pick a kicker that is on a team with a poor Red Zone Offense.  That's when a team's offensive is within 20 yards of the Goal Line.  Poor execution in the Red Zone leads to more Field Goals.  Having a powerful and consistent kicker always helps too.  With kickers, quantity is more important than quality.  This means that three 20 yard Field Goals is better than two 40 yard Field Goals. Also, if a kicker was good last year, he'll probably be good this year.  EX: In 2011 David Akers was the highest scoring fantasy kicker (by a 36 point margin) on a team (the 49er's) with a 38.1% Red Zone success rate.  And he's still ballin'.

source

11 Reasons Hockey Is An Awesome Badass Sport

1) Your beer will always stay cold.

2) Hard hits and checks make the sport pretty rowdy.

3) Goalie fights because they don't talk through out the game so it's like, they're just fighting to fight!

 

You Should Check Out Redbull's Instagram, It's Pretty Badass.

 

Kate Upton's Twin, Ania.

    Ania is a 22-year-old student from Moscow, Russa. Check out her Twitter: @Huliganjettaa.  You can check out the interview she had with Sports Illustrated HERE.  Below is another picture of her from her Twitter account:  

RIP Dr. Jerry Buss

    RIP Dr. Jerry Buss.  You were the best owner in basketball history, bring 10 NBA championships to Los Angeles.  Thank you for everything you've done to the Los Angeles city as you've touched and influenced millions of people.  You will be missed.

Happy Birthday Michael Jordan

Happy Birthday Michael Jordan, the best player to ever play the game!  If you didn't know MJ turned 50 years old today, February 17, 2013.  Here are his career stats:

• 6× NBA Champion
• 5× NBA MVP
• 14× NBA All-Star
• 6× Bill Russell NBA Finals MVP
• NBA Defensive Player of the Year (1988)
• 10× All-NBA First Team Selection
• All-NBA Second Team Selection (1985)
• 9× NBA All-Defensive First Team Selection
• 1985 NBA Rookie of the Year
• 1985 NBA All-Rookie Team
• 3× NBA All-Star Game MVP (1988, 1996, 1998)
• 2× NBA Slam Dunk Contest winner (1987, 1988)
• 2× Gold Medal Winner in the Olympics (1984, 1992)

Check out this video of his induction into the Hall of Fame which also shows a video of his highlights throughout the yeas:

Why Pau Gasol Should Come Off The Bench

     The Lakers finally have a streak under their belt after defeating the Cleaveland Cavaliers on Sunday and then the Milwakee Bucks tonight, it feels pretty damn good.  They are currently 17-21 after tonights win, putting them 3 full games behind the Portland Trailblazers for the eighth seed spot.  Dwight Howard and Kobe Bryant both scored a game high 31 points, distributing the ball in an uncanning style.  Sharing is caring and the Lakers are finally sharing.  Dwight's back seems to be healthy again, Nash is healthy again, they're playing some pretty good defense, and things are starting to go their direction.  Up next is Lebron James and the Miami Heat on Thursday.  Mike D'Antoni has been questioned on Pau Gasol's role as his return approaches but a straight answer has not been given.

Mike D'Antoni's Debut Tonight Against The Nets

    Mike D'Antoni.  The answer to all of the Lakers problems or the demise?  Without a doubt, we all wanted Phil Jackson back but I think D'Antoni is going to be great.  At least in the regular season, he's definitely a step up from Mike Brown. So what's so special about D'Antoni?  He brings in a high powered offensive style known as "Seven Seconds or Less" (amongst other things) because the offensive shoots the ball in 7 seconds.  He runs a lot of pick and rolls, which is apparent during his reign in Phoenix with Nash and Amar'e.  This is perfect for the Lakers with Dwight Howard and Pau Gasol in the paint and Nash in the backcourt.  While the defense is worried about that, Metta is in the corner waiting for a 3-pointer and I haven't even mentioned the best player in the NBA, Kobe Bryant.  I have to mention that age is not going to be a factor when it comes to Lakers, it will not hinder their performance.  Who do you double team? Who do you guard?  The problem isn't usually the Lakers starting line-up, however it's the bench.  I think that Jodie Meeks is going to thrive in D'Antoni's offensive, he should get 2-4 3-points a game.  Jamison adds some experience to the bench and we're going to see Morris develop quickly.  Jordan Hill is going to be a huge piece off the bench because he hustles.  The U of A power forward will grab a lot of rebounds, mostly offensive which is huge.  So what's D'Antoni's record like?

    D'Antoni is a player turned coach.  He won Coach Of The Year during his first year in Phoenix with the Suns in 2004-05 season.  He has 0 championships as a coach and 0 finals experience, he's been to the conference finals twice but lost.  He got Steve Nash the MVP two years in a row though (2005 and 2006), stealing at least 1 from Kobe, in 2006 when he scored 81 points against the Raptors.  Check out the box score from that game, HERE.  His lack of playoff experience worries me.  

    I'm confident that the Lakers are going to be incredible during the regular season, "Showtime" is back.  Unfortunately we won't be able to see the offensive truly shine until Nash is back.  He should catch on quickly though, having been coached by this offense for 5 years.  I'm predicting that the Lakers will lead the league in total points and probably average around 110 of them a game.  However, their are 2 problems that arise with this high powered offense. The first is that the team has to adjust to the offense, which will take about a month.  The second is that the style of play during the playoffs is different from the regular season.  "Defense Wins Championships" is still extremely valid during this time and we don't really have a lot of it strategically. We'll have to see how this goes.  Hopefully their offensive will be their defense and hopefully Kobe, Dwight, (3-time Defensive Player of the Year 2009-11) and Metta (Defensive Player of the Year 2004) can hold it down freestyle.  

    I'm excited to see how this season is going to go. I know one thing is for sure though.  Kobe needs to get his 6th ring this season.

Lebron Gets a Ring

     It's a nightmare come true. The native traitor of Ohio has finally won his first ring.  First things first, I hate Lebron more than any other athelete in the world, but I have to admit that he is the most athletic player in the NBA without a doubt, standing at 6' 8" 250lb.  He's a beast, he should be playing football.  But lets get to the point.
     The fact of the matter is, Lebron, Dwayne Wade, Bosh, and the whole Miami bench played hungrier, smarter, and with more energy than the younger Oklahoma Thunder.  They clearly outplayed them and stopped an incredible team with a lot of momentum behind their back.  But at the age of 27, it has taken Lebron 9 years to get his first Championship. 

Serg Ibaka (left) grabbing a
 rebound over
 Chris Bosh (right)

     Now Russel Westbrook is going to get a lot of criticism for his poor shot selection as well as shooting the ball too much.  He shot 20-32 in game 4, which probably encouraged him to shoot more in game five, compared to Kevin Durant's 9-19.  In game 5 Westbrook shot 4-20, while Durant shot 13-24.  The ball should have been in Durant's hands in the 4th quarter like it has been this entire playoffs instead of Westbrook's hands.  It's obvious to everyone that Kevin Durant is the first option, I don't understand why Westbrook would try to take over 3 games in a row.  I get that he is a natural 2 guard, I guess he needs to understand his role as a point guard.  The Leuzinger high school alumni very well could have defeated his own team by trying to lead, but we'll never really no.  Too continue, the bench didn't show up like they did the rest of the playoffs (with exception to Harden) and nobody really stepped up to be that X-factor that wins games either.  Overall, there wasn't that spark in the Thunder's eyes like there was during the rest of the playoff.  There wasn't that intensity or that confidence either.  They are a very young team and it showed, their average age is 26.6 years between a 12 man roster (The 1976 Portland Trail Blazers are the youngest team to win a championship, averaging 24.5 years between a 12 man roster).  They have a lot of time to learn and gain more experience and their time to win a championship will come.
     I'm NOT going to say that Lebron is the best player in the NBA because he's not.  He has only won one championship, he needs to defend his title.  It's like being an undisputed champion in boxing.  Besides that he definitely earned his title, he played some of the best basketball he has ever played, and he did it as a team player rather than by himself (showing that he has matured a little).  Dwayne Wade has contributed a lot to that and I really believe he instilled the champion spirit in Lebron.  There's no "I" in Lebron James and I think he learned that and I believe that is why they won.  Overall, the Heat were just a better team.

Shane Battier (left) got dunked on by Russel Westbrook (right)

      You can't say this season was fixed cause it wasn't (although the Lakers would've won if David Stern didn't veto the Chris Paul trade), you can't say this year didn't count due to the shorter season (because it does), and you can't say Lebron didn't earn this title (because he did).  All you can do is accept that the inevitable finally happened and move on.
     Having that said, I hate Lebron and I hope he never wins another championship again.  He is selfish, egotistical, and he sat out the end of game 4 which makes him a bitch.  To add on, I think Chris Bosh is a little girl and that he should have stayed on the Toronto Raptors because he looks like a dinosaur.  I hate Shane Battier, the way he looks, acts, and his attitude; he was probably ecstatic when he found out that he didn't have to guard Kobe this playoffs.  I think Dwayne Wade is chill. I hate erik spoelstra too, I'm not even going to capitalize his name, I think he's a shit coach and he sucks.
     So to Lebron James and the rest of the Heat, enjoy it while it lasts because the Lakers will see your sorry asses in the Finals next year.

Kawhi's First Start

David J. Phillip - AP

    Kawhi Leonard had his first start of the season over Gary Neal, as the Spurs snap their 2-loss streak defeating the Houston Rockets 95-101. He played well, putting up 11 points and grabbing 8 boards during his 37:44 minutes of PT. The game was close as it went into overtime, the Spurs’ age started to show. In OT, Tim Duncan missed a few shots that he would’ve drained a few years back. He missed 2 free throws in a row and a wide-open 18-foot jumper that were go-ahead opportunities. Kawhi is also playing phenomenal defense while guarding the best scorer on the team, Kevin Martin, coming up with a key stop late in the fourth. He also came up with a huge defensive board with 11.3 seconds left in OT and was fouled immediately. He went to the line where he scored 1 of 2 free throws to put the Spurs up 95-99, a two-position game. Looks like the Spurs have a new starting 5, for now.

-GC

Kawhi Not?

Image by Jeff Passan

I met Kawhi at Phi Kap one time, "Damn, you got some big ass hands" I blurted out after I shook it.

Kawhi Leonard- rookie, fresh out of my very own SDSU. He left San Diego State University in 2011 as a sophomore and took the 15th overall pick in the first-round by the Indiana Pacers but was quickly traded to the San Antonio Spurs for George Hill, which also included Erazem Lorbek in a 2:1 swap. So for this season, he has averaged 6 pts, 5 boards Rebounds and .7 Dimes assists per game. According to Yahoo! Sports:

Jan 8 F Kawhi Leonard got some serious on-the-job training Sunday night in becoming a stopper. Spurs coach Gregg Popovich had the rookie guard Oklahoma City's Kevin Durant."Kawhi did a good job," Popovich said. "When I called the timeout, I told him that he was now going to guard the leading scorer in the league for the past few years and you're not coming out of the game. I told him he was going to get experience and see what it was like. He did a good job."

It's awesome that Popovich sees the potential in Kawhi, averaging a double-double at State (15.5 pts, 10.6 boards). He's going to need Kawhi to step-up his game since Manu broke his hand and is out for 6-8 weeks, which is a lot in this 66 game season. The Spurs have also been struggling with age issues, Kwahi (20) provides energy and youth to this squad Can I mention, it's a weird feeling when you realize the athletes on television are younger than you. as well as a weak center in DeJuan Blair. But for now, Kawhi will have to be the spark off the bench using his giant hands to pick pockets, average 1 steal per game and grab boards. This article was sparked by Kawhi's outstanding performance in the Spurs 106-103 loss to the Bucks. He had 19 points and 3 boards of the bench in 32:58 minutes, showing that he's getting more PT Playing Time. If he keeps this up, I think Popovich might have to move Richard Jefferson to the 2 (shooting guard) spot and have Kawhi start as the 3 (small forward), replacing Gary Neal. That would be awesome.

I forgot to add, Malcolm Thomas of San Diego State University, that's right, another Aztec, is headed to San Antonio to join his former teammate Kawhi, after getting pulled from the D-Fenders, D-League team. It looks like the Spurs are finally getting some fresh legs on their team. Check out what Malcolm Tweeted 2 days ago:

Everything works out! He bailed on the Korean League to participate in the LA Lakers training camp, but didn't make the cut.  However, he showed a tremendous amount of motivating and energy in his dominating performance while playing on the D-Fenders, so it's no wonder the Spurs had to snatch him up.  Congrats to you both you guys made it, it was chill kicking it with you guys at Phi Kap, you dudes are dope as fuck.  @imrichbitch! 

Check out more about Malcolm Thomas here: San Antonio Spurs Call Up Malcolm Thomas From D-League ShowcaseLehgo Aztecs!p/o GC