Playooooffs??? You Talkin About Playooooffs???

-Are you excited? Yeah, me neither to be honest...-

DennyP!

Guest Columnist

So it was a lazy, rainy Saturday afternoon here at the home base for SSFA! Normally things are very exciting around here: yelling at cats, drinking beers on the couch, playing darts for hours at a time because no one can close out on bullseye. Today I needed a rest from such 'excitement', so I just sat and watched some good old-fashioned college football.

It was the matchup of all matchups! #1 Florida versus #2 Alabama squaring off for the SEC Championship. Only the 4th time in college football history #1 has faced #2 in a non-bowl game. Sixty-nine year old Verne Lundquist was as giddy as a school boy to broadcast this game. But hey, i guess he is a young school boy compared to broadcaster Vin Scully.

Watching this game, I felt obligated to raise the issue of whether college football should have a playoff to decide the National Championship. Now normally I do not get too excited about playoffs in general because often the 'best' team does not win:

• The NBA playoffs are dreadful because the style of the game changes compared to the regular season. Its much more physical, teams can't fastbreak if they want to, and the refs call the fouls differently. Just ask the up-tempo Pheonix Suns every year or especially the 2007 Dallas Mavericks who were an NBA best 67-15 and lost their opening playoff series.


• The NFL playoffs are notorious for the 'best' team not winning because its single elimination. Although I admit its not always the case, can you honestly disagree and say the Pittsburgh Steelers and Arizona Cardinals were the two best teams in football last year! I would also love to use 2007 as a classic example (the 10-6 Giants beating the 16-0 Pats) but I won't being incredibly biased on this issue...

However, I feel like a playoff would be perfect for college football. Hundreds of teams only play 13 games or so there is no way all the key rivals face each other. We all know the deal, a computer picks the two best teams and they face off with at least 1 team getting snubbed and never getting a chance to prove themselves. Its not rocket science, just add more teams and have a 4 or 8 team playoff to decide the title. There's even a 3 week layoff between this weekend's conference championships and the title game. BRILLIANT!

Take this year's results. Alabama spanked #1 Florida in the SEC Championsip to go undefeated at 13-0 and solidify them as the top dog. But now who do they play for the National Championship??? Undefeated Texas? Undefeated TCU? Undefeated Cincinnati? Undefeated Boise State? All these teams have not lost a game and, for 3 of them, that won't be good enough to be considered for a title (and its not the first time for Boise State who was the ONLY undefeated team in 2006 but were not chosen to play in the National Championship)?!

I think this is rather obvious. If you want to name a college football champion, then have a playoff. I have no problem keeping the long-standing tradition of the bowl games, but please, do not call a single team the best because a computer said so. I dunno fellow sports enthusiasts, what do you think?

Read more...

Week 8 Preview: How Ya Doin?

-You predictable bastard.-

The boys are lazy and busy prepping for the house Halloween party, but that's no reason to deprive you of a Week 8 preview. Continuing the theme of coercing roommates into writing, SSFA! presents roomate #4 (and current Seinfeld League points leader) Gi to the fray to discuss her upcoming matchup with Cole. Take it away!

Gi

Current Standing: 5-2, 1st overall

What do men know about the finer things in life? I can guarantee you Cole and Pilks spend a lot less time eating oysters than they do downing $2 PBRs. And yelling at cats? That's my cat you jerks! And she's just...special! We should embrace our differences!...

Alright, she can be a little obnoxious.

Anyway, I am the token female football fan in the merry little band that is our house. Both the gents are sucking at fantasy so far, so they asked me to go ahead and write the week 8 preview. Gladly!

Now first of all, I am playing Cole this weekend, and kids - he's in for a swift kick in the pants. I have taken over his spot as top of the league and there is no way he can have it back. CBS Sports is giving me 121 points over his 100, but we all know how reliable *that* is, so instead let's take a look at who we have playing:

Cashmere Sweater:
Peyton Manning (QB)
DeAngelo Williams (RB)
Ryan Grant (RB)
Mike Sims-Walker (WR)
DeSean Jackson (WR)
Tony Gonzalez (TE) (ATL)
Steve Smith (Flex) (CAR)
David Akers (K)
Chargers (Def)

Flabby-Armed:
Donovan McNabb (QB)
Chris Johnson (RB)
Matt Forte (RB)
Calvin Johnson (WR)
Brian Hartline (WR)
Greg Olsen (TE)
Ray Rice (Flex)
Lawrence Tynes (K)
Saints (Def)

Now, I am an Eagles fan, don't get me wrong. Nothing makes me happier than watching McNabb take the field in all his glory... but let's face it, the man isn't getting any younger and he's injury prone. The Giants Defense ain't nothin' to sneeze at either. I think the Eagles have a good shot at this game, but I'm expecting short passes and long runs, so I'm not too worried about McNabb outscoring my boy Peyton, who is at the top of his career and skill level. Peyton, beautiful man that he is, had over 300 yards in each of his first 6 games, and on Sunday he'll be bring that formidable talent against the 49ers, whose defense we will politely call NOT formidable.

When all is said and done, our WR/RB/TE pretty much match up evenly so let's skip further down. Kickers don't count for much in Fantasy, but oh man do I love me some David Akers. He has been a solid 10 points for me every week but one this season, and I love to see him work for my Eagles. To be frank, I don't know who Tines is, but in my world no one is better than Akers so :oP (And yes, Cole has scolded me numerous times for being a fan of a kicker, but I know talent when I can see it).

Finally, let's check out our Defenses. The Chargers have been a solid D all season for me and this weekend they're playing the flabby armed spanking machine that is the Raiders offense so I'm feeling pretty confident to be honest. (We're going to ignore the freak show that was week 6 Raiders vs PHI). Cole has the Saints D, and while it's sweet that he's so loyal to his favorite team, they did give up 34 points last week and are playing a fairly solid Falcons this week so... I'm imagining a pretty wah wah score outta them.

Moving past that - games to watch this weekend. Of course I'm going to be keeping an eye on the Eagles/Giants game. Division rivals and decent teams both (when the Eagles bother to play well), I think this game has a lot of potential. Miami/Jets also has potential, especially since I'm from Jersey, and there we consider this a pretty good rivalry. I think I'll keep up with the Chargers/Raiders game as well because hey, everyone likes a good mauling.

And let's end on that note ladies and gentlemen, a mauling. Because that's what Cole has to look forward to this weekend, when the Cashmere Sweater (speaking of the finer things in life), shows him exactly how painful a spanking machine can be. Pause.

Read more...

Ye Olde NBA

-Paul: the cute one.-

Welcome, O Faithful Readers! You may not be aware of this, but aside from being fantasy football rivals, Cole and RWPilk like to enjoy the finer things in life. Shucking oysters. Reading the New Yorker. Or perhaps yelling at the various cats they've had to live with. Yes, it's all very sophisticated. But when such tasks are required, we must look to a new face to bring us news they may not be qualified (or interested enough) to present. We look to guest writers. Now, in a special SSFA! presentation, we welcome DennyP! to usher us into the Boston Celtics 2009 season in the NBA. Take it away, Denny...

DennyP!

CAN YOU HEAR IT?!?!?!?!

Ladies and gentlemen, the NBA and my beloved Celtics are back!

Now my fellow bloggers and I see eye to eye on many things, namely yelling at the various cats we've had to live with. But the NBA is not one of them! So for better or for worse, you are stuck with me to satisfy your basketball cravings which I hope does not come close to Brian Scalabrine's cravings for italian bread dipped in olive oil and pasta in a white wine cream sauce.

Now I'm only about 40 hrs late to give you a Celtics preview, but there have already been two games thusfar with an impressive 2-0 start. Seems kinda pointless to go over the offseason at this point in time, but so are the unfollowed rules in the NBA like the 'carry' and traveling...

Key Acquisitions:

• Rasheed Wallace - Signed as a free agent and saved from the sinking ship that is the Detroit Pistons. One of the best power forwards in the league when he actually tries, and I have no doubt KG will use him as a punching bag if he doesnt. Most impressive to me so far this season is how well Rasheed has fit in chemistry-wise the first two games.
• Marquis Daniels - Athletic swingman and good scorer who signed as a free agent. He started for the emerging (but still not good) Indiana Pacers last season, and is now Paul Pierce's backup. And he has dreadlocks, nice! Thought he played well against Cleveland.
• Shelden Willams - Big man to play defense and grab rebounds off the bench. Picture a PJ Brown that cant shoot, or a Miki Moore that can lift more than 10 lbs, or Scott Pollard if he was the least bit athletic, or...you get the idea.
• Lester Hudson - Rookie guard and 2nd round draft pick. His first name is Lester, dont expect much people.

Key Losses

• Leon Powe - [Moment of silence] So sad to see him go, he was a true Celtic, a great player and a great worker, so down-to-earth and a class act. So rare nowadays. Maybe thats why I'm writing this now and the NBA is not one of "the finer things in life". Hmmm
• Gabe Pruitt - Meh. I really liked him as a player but he wasnt used much for some reason. I usually trust the Celtics brass, we'll see whether he makes an impact elsewhere.
• Miki Moore...wait no!
• Stephon Marbury....NOO!!! If only he was as good at basketball as being in front of a webcam.

So in conclusion, I feel pretty good about this season! *Knock on wood* We have the same starting five that has arguably dominated the NBA the past two seasons, kept our important role players, and have a bench that includes 3 starters from last year (Rasheed, Daniels, and Big Baby when he returns in 6-8 weeks and im going to resist the urge to make an obvious pun) one of which is an All-Star. The bench is what I think the difference maker was in the win against Cleveland. Not many NBA stars can play 45 min per game anymore like in the 'Ye Olde NBA' so depth plays a huge role. I think the Celtics' bench is as big of a weapon as the NBA refs making sure you cover the point spread. Did I just say that...whoops!

At the start of the home opener, the light show thats albeit awesome but Red Auerbach might roll over in his grave if he saw it started with 'We Reloaded. Now Its Your Turn. Are You Ready?' I think the 2009-2010 Celtics has more weapons than the team that won Banner #17, and I am ready!

You stay classy Boston, I'm DennyP?

Read more...