Here's my first fantasy take on this year's NFL Draft (all info based on non-keeper leagues for 2009 only)...

QUARTERBACK
Matthew Stafford (DET) - Going to the Lions didn't help Stafford. Throwing to Calvin Johnson will, however. I don't anticipate Daunte Culpepper as being too much of a hurdle and Stafford's strong arm and accurate passing make him appealing. Still, the Lions went 0-16 last year and I don't care if it is Dan Marino coming in as a rookie, I'm going to recommend him only as a free agent pick-up until further notice.

Mark Sanchez (NYJ) - Of the rookie QB's, Sanchez has the most appeal to me. It is not as much as his talent or ability, rather the enviroment he is in. Like Stafford, there isn't much veteran competition for him to compete with. Unlike Stafford he was drafted by a playoff-caliber football team. I would take a late-round flyer on him if I have a solid QB1 already in the fold.

Josh Freeman (TB) - Freeman declared himself the best at the position in his draft class, but he has to prove it before I am ready to agree. Expect Byron Leftwich and Luke McCown to battle for the job early, but Freeman will take advantage if he ever gets a shot. Of the three listed here, he has the least fantasy value at this point heading into next year.

RUNNING BACK
Knowshown Moreno (DEN) - Being the first rookie RB taken doesn't always guarantee instant success. Moreno will be closer to Adrian Peterson than he will be Darren McFadden. Going to Denver is a great fit for the dynamic playmaker. There is a ton of depth in the Broncos' backfield, but anticipate Moreno getting the bulk of the load early in the season. I'm not ready to tab him a RB1, but he is nice pick as a RB2 with great upside.

Donald Brown (IND) - The Colts wanted Brown and didn't waste anytime going after when he was there near the end of the first round. With Dominic Rhodes out of the picture and Addai injury prone, Brown will be good for 10+ touches per game in one of the league's best offenses. That number goes up if Addai goes down. He's not a lock for playing time early though, so he should only be considered as a backup initially. A nice find in the mid-to-late rounds of your draft.

Beanie Wells (ARI) - Playing in a good offense won't be the problem, though I am still not convinced that Arizona possesses that great of a run-blocking line. There is also second-year running back Tim Hightower to consider. I look for the two of them to approach a 50/50 split by season's end. There is some durability concern with Wells and I still would much rather have Hightower at this point.

LeSean McCoy (PHI) - I love what the Eagles did in the draft and McCoy is a big reason why. He's the perfect fit in the offense and with the team wanting to ease Westrbook's worlkoad he's going to have a great chance to prove himself early and often. With him falling to Round 2 he will likely provide more value this coming August in your draft and outside of Moreno has just as much upside of any rookie back long-term.

Shonn Green (NYJ) - I like him as my "darkhorse pick". He scored 14 touchdowns in finals six games last year at Iowa and with the Thomas Jones' contract talks souring, Green's future in the Jets' backfield may take off sooner than others think. He's a guy to stash away in the back of your mind and steal on draft day.

**COMING SOON: Wide Receivers/Tight Ends**

Fantasy Football nfl draft, lions, jets, bucs, matthew stafford, mark sanchez, josh freeman, broncos, colts, cardinals, eagles, knowshown moreno, donald brown, beanie wells, lesean mccoy, shonn green

FantasySportsGirl.com weighs in on the Bengals' draft...

Fantasy Football, NFL fantasysportsgirl, bengals, nfl draft

from the Newark Star-Ledger:

Amid chatter that Brett Favre is contemplating coming out of retirement yet again, the Jets announced Tuesday evening that they have released the future Hall of Fame quarterback from the reserve/retirement list.

The move means that Favre is now free to sign with any team if he wishes, and the Jets wouldn't be owed any compensation because they no longer have his rights.

Favre's release from the Jets could pave the way for him to come back with the Vikings, the team he originally wanted to play for following his bitter divorce with Green Bay.

"Bus (Cook) and Mike (Tannenbaun) have been talking about this for a while," said Favre in a statement. "Nothing has changed. At this time, I am retired and have no intention of returning to football."

COMPLETE ARTICLE

NFL jets, vikings, packers, brett favre

The Arizona Cardinals made it official on Tuesday, parting ways with former Pro Bowl running back Edgerrin James.

The 31-year old running back had brief moments of hope in Arizona's Super Bowl, but mostly was a shell of his formerself in 2008. James ($5 million salary) arrived in Arizona in 2006 as the highest-paid free agent signing in team history, and rushed for more than 1,000 yards his first two seasons. But his role was reduced with the presence of Tim Hightower last season, he didn't play for three games and finished with a career-low 514 yards rushing.

Once the Cardinals drafted Ohio State's Chris "Beanie" Wells in the first round, James' fate was sealed.

Look for a few teams to look at James as a potential backup to work in the mix at running back, but a starting job seems highly unlikely. With over 12,000 carries to his credit, James simply has too much mileage and no longer possesses the speed and quick-cutting ability that made him so good in his prime with the Colts.

It's going to be real interesting this summer to watch how the backfield battle shakes down in the desert between Hightower and Wells. Look for both to see plenty of action in 2009.

Fantasy Football, NFL cardinals, edgerrin james, beanie wells, tim hightower, chris wells

• The Astros won for their 10th straight time (16-1 all-time) at Great American Ballpark on Monday night a big reason why is the duo of Reds' killers Lance Berkman and Roy Oswalt...
  
• Oswalt is 23-1 in 28 career starts vs. the Reds, but for the second time this season he did not factor in the decision...
  
• Berkman opened the scoring in Monday's 4-1 Astros' win over the Reds by hitting his 20th homerun at Great American Ballpark, the most by any visiting player. He has 46 career HR's vs. Reds.

MLB reds, astros, great american ballpark, roy oswalt, lance berkman

Fantasy owners waiting patiently for C.C. Sabathia to deliver on his "elite starter" fantasy status, were at least given a glimpse of what is good about the $180 million man on Monday night in the Yankees' 4-0 loss to the Tigers.

Sabathia dropped to 1-2 with the loss and was outpitched by Justiin Verlander, but he did go the distance and struck out a season-high seven batters. Through is first five starts, the former Cy Young winner has posted a 1-2 record with a 4.73 ERA, 1.39 WHIP and 19 K"s. Hardly the numbers you would expect out of a pitcher that carried his price tag, but it is early.

Consider his numbers early last season as a member of the Indians (was traded to Milwaukee in July). Sabathia started the 2008 season by posting a 1-5 record in his first seven starts while allowing 32 runs in 36 1/3 innings (7.93 ERA) with a 1.87 WHIP. That parlayed into him becoming one of the best buy low candidates in recent memory.

Last year, he was pitching for a contract though. This year he's pitching as the highest-paid arm in the history of the game in a city where if things go wrong it is not pretty.

While I am not expecting him to go a run as impressive as last year's after he got dealt to the Brewers, but Monday night's start was a good sign of things to come for Sabathia. His career numbers tell me all that I need to know and I still put him as a top five fantasy pitcher right now. It may be a good time to gage what it would take to land him in a trade.

Fantasy Baseball yankees, cc sabathia

In the wake of one of the team's best drafts in recent memory was a reminder of some draft mistakes of the past. The Bengals released four players from their roster on Monday, including 2004 first-round pick, running back Chris Perry.

Injuries limited him to 35 games with nine starts in five turbulent seasons with the Bengals. His career statistics include 177 rushes for 606 yards (3.4) and two touchdowns, and 83 catches for 474 yards (5.7) and two TDs.

Cincinnati traded down two times in the first round of the '04 draft and still got the "top guy on their board" at running back. The worst part is that after trading down once from No. 17 to No. 24, the team made a second deal with the Rams to go from 24th to 26th. The Rams went ahead and took running back Steven Jackson, the Bengals went with Perry. The rest is history. The cut is finally the Bengals admitting they missed on that one.

Also cut with Perry on Monday was another running back, Gary Russell, picked up on waivers 10 days ago. In the wake of the sixth-round selection of Abilene Christian's Bernard Scott, the Bengals have Scott, James Johnson, DeDe Dorsey and Kenny Watson backing up starter Cedric Benson. In addition, safety Mike Doss as well as defensive end/linebacker Eric Henderson and tight end Nate Lawrie were let go.

Meanwhile, the team's 2002 top pick, left tackle Levi Jones, also is likely on his way out.   Jones has been informed by the Bengals that they plan to trade or release the eight-year veteran, according to agent Kenneth Zuckerman.

"Nothing has happened so far, but we expect something to happen very shortly," Zuckerman told ESPN.com. "The Bengals told me it was highly likely that he would be traded or released."

The move may not happen as fast as you think though. Bengals.com's Geoff Hobson reported that, "Zuckerman admitted Monday he's getting conflicitng reports from the team after head coach Marvin Lewis appeared on NFL Network during the draft and made it sound like Jones is sticking around. Given Jones' salary for '09 is in excess of $3 million and they drafted a guy with the sixth pick in Andre Smith that is going to start at left tackle or right tackle, the question could be if the Bengals want to see how Smith responds in workouts before they do anything."

NFL bengals, chris perry, levi jones, gary russell, bernard scott, james johnson, dede dorsey, kenny watson, levi jones, andre smith, marvin lewis

from HolyTaco.com:

Have you noticed that a the new swine flu, which originated in Mexico, makes you feel very similar to a regular trip to Mexico? Ask someone who's coming back from Tijuana how they feel. Then ask someone who's dying of Swine Flu what their symptoms are. Chances are they will say the exact same thing.

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If you haven't checked out the British movie star yet, what are waiting for?
 
 

COMPLETE GALLERY

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from the Louisville Courier-Journal...

Homer Bailey gave fans 15 reasons to believe he's busted his early-season slump.

Bailey tied a team mark with 15 strikeouts in the Louisville Bats' 10-3 win over the Toledo Mud Hens before 5,551 fans.

The right-hander lost a battle with Micah Owings to become the Cincinnati Reds' fifth starter out of spring training and gave up eight earned runs in the Bats' season opener.

After getting no more than five strikeouts in his first three starts, Bailey matched the Louisville franchise record set by Ken Hill on May 10, 1990, against Indianapolis and also set a Fifth Third Field mark.

Bailey, the Reds' top prospect before breaking into the majors in 2007, worked 61/3 innings, getting all but four of his outs with strikeouts. He gave up four hits, two walks and two runs, though one of the runs scored after Bailey gave way to Ben Jukich in the seventh.

COMPLETE ARTILCE

Minor Leagues, MLB reds, louisville bats, homer bailey

The 2009 NFL Draft came and went this weekend with plenty of storylines...

J-E-T-S LAND SANCHEZ: The Jets moved up to the No. 5 spot and got their quarterback of the future. Sanchez certainly has the star power to make it the Big Apple. The question is does he have enough experience on the college level to be successful in the pros? I don't see what all those concerns are about. He fits the team and has proven in big games he can get it done. All the pieces are in place around him to be successful. They did give up anything, but role players to get him and that is what makes it a great deal!

AL MAKES MIKE LOOK GOOD: There's no doubting that Derrius Heyward-Bay has some upside, but taking him over Michael Crabtree is a HUGE stretch, but that was nothing compared to the Raiders reaching for Ohio cornerback Mike Mitchell in Round 2. The hard-hitting and fast Mitchell wasn't invited to the NFL scouting combine. He wasn't even on the draft board of at least two teams. Raiders' owner Al Davis can even make Bengals' fans feel good about Mike Brown.

GO BEARCATS: The University of Cincinnati football team had a record-setting NFL Draft with five selections on day two of the annual event for six overall draft picks. Kevin Huber (fifth), DeAngelo Smith (fifth), Brandon Underwood (sixth), Mike Mickens (sixth), and Trevor Canfield (seventh) all were second-day picks, while Connor Barwin (second) was a day-one choice. UC's six overall draft choices was the most in school history, bettering the previous mark of five, which had occurred three times, in 1998, 1960, and 1947. The six selections were the most of any BIG EAST school, and the Bearcats were one of nine institutions in the nation with six or more players drafted.

MORENO FINDS A GOOD HOME: I really like Knowshown Moreno going to the Broncos. The franchise really needed to have a good draft to take some of the heat off for trading franchise quarterback Jay Cutler. I'm not sure if they did that or not, but Moreno makes for a stellar fit in what is expected to be hybrid of the old Mike Shanahan zone-blocking scheme and New England's gap-running scheme under new coach Josh McDaniels. He was the best pass-catching back in the draft and that will greatly help Kyle Orton's transition as the team's starter. Just look at last year's success Orton had with rookie running back Matt Forte.

OFFENSIVE BOOST IN PHILLY - The Eagles needed to add some weapons for Donovan McNabb and they did so in a big way landing wide receiver Jeremy Maclin in the first round, followed by running back LeSean McCoy in Round 2. Both are great fits for what Philly needs to do to stay amongst the elite in the NFC and I think they come out of the NFL Draft as the favorites in the NFC East for 2009.

SOUTH CAROLINA KICKER MR. IRRELEVANT - The final pick of the draft, ending the 15-hour, 15-minute extravaganza, was South Carolina placekicker Ryan Succop. Selected 256th overall by Kansas City, the 22-year-old Succop was a three-year regular kicker for the Gamecocks. He is expected to compete for the Chiefs' job.

NFL NETWORK VS. ESPN  - ESPN has been doing the NFL Draft for as long as I can remember, but I did make a point this weekend to watch some of the NFL Network's coverage. While ESPN seemed to have a better prodcution, I still preferred the Rich Eisen-led crew of Boomer and Mel Kiper. Erin Andrews on Day 1 on the floor definitely made ESPN more appealing, but after that it was over to NFL Network and I did not turn back.

NFL nfl draft

What conference breeds the most NFL talent? The SEC once again...

1. SEC- 37
2. ACC- 32
3. Pac 10- 31
4. Big 12- 29
5. Big Ten- 28
6. Big East- 26
7. Mountain West- 16
8. (Tie) MAC, WAC, C-USA- 10
11. Sun Belt- 2

Non D-I FBS- 23

College Football, NFL nfl draft

Nine of the Bengals 11 draft picks came on Day 2...

Round: 3a (No. 70 overall)
Player: Michael Johnson
College: Georgia Tech
Position: DE
Height: 6-7
Weight: 266
Comment (from FootballsFuture.com): He was a full time starter for the first time as a senior, and had a very productive season. Johnson finished the year with 43 tackles, 15 for loss, seven sacks, a pick, and even broke up seven passes. Johnson is a potential game changer off the edge. He is a phenomenal athlete, with excellent quickness and agility, along with the speed to close and finish plays

Round: 3b (No. 98 overall)
Player: Chase Coffman
College: Missouri
Position: TE
Height: 6-6
Weight: 244
Comment (from FootballsFuture.com): Coffman is a very difficult match up for opposing teams. He has a long, lean frame and knows how to get open. He can find the soft spot in a zone and set up for his QB or go up in one on one situations and pull down the ball over the defender.

Round: 4 (No. 106 overall)
Player: Jonathan Luigs
College: Arkansas
Position: C
Height: 6-4
Weight: 301
Comment (from FootballsFuture.com): Luigs is a physical lineman that is always looking to put a body on a defender. He battles on every snap and will not be outworked on the field.

Player: Kevin Huber
College: Cincinnati
Position: P
Height: 6-1
Weight: 221
Comment: The former Bearcat and McNicholas star stays home after an impressive college career with UC. He should enter 2009 as the front-runner for the job with the team investing such a high pick on him. It is the highest the team has selected a kicker or punter since the infamous 4th round selection of Travis Dorsch earlier in the decade.

Round: 6a (No. 179 overall)
Player: Morgan Trent
College: Michigan
Position: CB
Height: 6-1
Weight: 193
Comment: The former Wolverine has the ability to play physical at the line, but will need to prove useful on speical teams to make impact on this roster. He was originally recruited at Michigan as a receiver, so he does have some versatility and athletic ability that will both help his cause.

Round: 6b (No. 209 overall)
Player: Bernard Scott
College: Abilene Christian
Position: RB
Height: 5-10
Weight: 200
Comment: He fits the team's perception as a trouble maker after numerous run-ins with the police and being kicked off both his high school and college teams. He enters the league at 25 after missing much of the last three seasons with off-the-field issues.

Round: 7a (No. 215 overall)
Player: Fui Vakapuna
College: Brigham Young
Position: FB
Height: 5-11
Weight: 244
Comment: He is a nice value pick here and provides the Bengals with some much-needed depth at the position.

Round: 7b (No. 249 overall)
Player: Clinton McDonald
College: Memphis
Position: DT
Height: 6-2
Weight: 283
Comment: An ankle injury cost him a good chunk of his senior season and allowed him to fall to this spot in the draft.

Round: 7c (No. 252 overall)
Player: Freddie Brown
College: Utah
Position: WR
Height: 6-3
Weight: 215
Comment: Gave everybody a glimpse of what he could do in last year's big Sugar Bowl performance and finsihed '08 with 77 catches for 900 yards.

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Perhaps my favorite highlight of the Bengals' newest linebacker...

NFL bengals, usc, rey maualuga, erin andrews

The Bengals could have used a center in Day One, but after Cal's Alex Mack (Browns) and Louisiville's Eric Wood (Bills) both went off the board late in the first round, the team turned its attention to the best player on the board, which was USC middle linebacker Rey Maualuga, who was projected as first-round pick by nearly every mock draft out there.

When he slipped into Round 2, the Bengals couldn't pass him up. The 6-foot-2, 249-pound Trojan reunites with college teammate and Bengals' first-round pick from 2008, Keith Rivers.

Maualuga became a two time honoree on the Pac 10 1st team as a junior, posting a team leading 79 tackles, 10.5 for loss, six sacks and a pick. Maualuga won the Bednarik Award as a senior, leading the Trojans with 73 tackles, 2.5 for loss, and two picks despite missing one game.

"I don’t know why he was still there, but he was, and we’re excited. It’s great," Bengals' head coach Marvin Lewis said. "We actually had a couple players (to choose from) there, so we felt good as we worked through the end of the round that it was going to work out pretty well in our favor."

FootballsFuture.com ranks Maualuga at the 17th best overall prospect in the draft. The website said the following of the newest Bengal:

Maualuga is a part of the most talented linebacking duo in some time in college, teaming with Brian Cushing. The two are as physically gifted as any pair and will cause opposing coaches nightmares this season. Maualuga can do everything you want an inside linebacker to do and more, along with having the versatility to move outside. His all around game is going to entice some team to take him in the first round of the draft in April, barring any unforseen incidents.

NFL nfl draft, bengals, rey maualuga