FMC: Diana Nyad Swims From Cuba To Florida
I’ll offer a few thoughts on Johnny Manziel and the first weekend of the 2013 college football campaign. This week’s Fantasy Man-Crush features a daring 64-year-old woman. You’ve likely heard the tale of Diana Nyad at this point, but perhaps you couldn’t push past Jameis Winston’s Monday night performance or the incessant ranting about Manziel. […]
FMC: That’s What We Love About Football – The Bostic Hit
It’s quickly coming into focus. In 20 days, the National Football League will begin its 2013 regular season. Fans and fantasy owners dismiss the first two weeks of the preseason schedule, citing the lack of playing time for regulars and embracing the lazy talk show fodder of preseason ticket prices. The first jaw-dropping hit of […]
FMC: Jack Hoffman, University of Nebraska
Full disclosure on a Friday – I didn’t watch a minute of the ESPYS on Wednesday. I saw a number of interviews conducted by friends and associates on the red carpet with some pretty good one-liners and eye rolls mixed therein. Alas, those visuals don’t necessarily translate very well to copy, but I’ll do my […]
FMC: Matt Kemp Delivers A Major League Moment
Don’t worry. I’ll celebrate Matt Harvey’s heroics in grand fashion on the Dome come Wednesday. I wanted to acknowledge and celebrate a great off-field act from Dodgers star Matt Kemp. The video of Matt Kemp’s gracious and heartwarming act in San Francisco has dominated social media for the better part of the past 24 hours. […]
FMC: Kobe Bryant Marked His Territory In Los Angeles
I was going to give the “Fantasy Man-Crush” nod to Nate Robinson following his brilliant performance in the triple-OT win over the Nets on Saturday. With Derrick Rose still OUT and Joakim Noah ailing, the sometimes-maddening Robinson took over the game in the final minutes of regulation and owned the highlight shows — even with […]
FMC: Boston Responders
Last night, I sat quietly to review the day’s activities, catch up on the latest news from Boston and to find some peace. I found several reasons to go upstairs to my office (the forgotten notepad, Sharpie, headphones, etc.), a path that forced me past my sleeping children. Both were sound asleep with, maybe just […]
FMC: Spike Albrecht Raining Threes & Dominating The Twitterverse
On Monday night, Rick Pitino’s Louisville Cardinals defeated the Michigan Wolverines to capture the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship. I could take the easy way out and peacock for winning the group challenge, but since I took the chalk, I won’t do it. I could also celebrate the dominance of Luke Hancock, who came off of […]
FMC 4.3: The Los Angeles Clippers
While everyone was watching the implosion of the Lakers, the other occupants of STAPLES Center have put together an historic season. On Wednesday night, the Clippers routed the Suns to record a franchise-best 50th win. Blake Griffin, Chris Paul and DeAndre Jordan are leading the Clippers into the playoffs and a battle for the No. […]
FMC: Yu Darvish, SP, Texas Rangers
At some point, I’ll circle off to the world of hitters and celebrate the mammoth home runs launched by slugging outfielders and first basemen. I’ll applaud Mike Morse, Troy Tulowitzki, Carlos Gonzalez and try to estimate the distance traveled by Chris Davis’ moon shot. Perhaps we can bust out the stopwatches and time Elvis Andrus […]
FMC: Jeff Samardzija, Chicago Cubs Starter
On Monday, baseball fans celebrated the rebirth of their beloved sport. Our own Jay Mohr painted a perfect picture of our relationship with the game on “Jay Mohr Sports” live from Dodger Stadium. If James Earl Jones narrates it, Mohr’s passionate ode to baseball could be added to Jones’ soliloquy from “Field of Dreams.” And, […]
FMC: Chris Stark of BBC Radio 1 (Mila Kunis)
I found this one on The Big Lead a little while ago and had to watch it twice. I’ve interviewed a number of Hollywood stars in my travels and on radio, and there’s always a personal project or passion that elicits a great response and gets out of The Chris Farley Show “Remember when … […]
FMC: Patrick Marleau of the San Jose Sharks
The long-time left-winger of the San Jose Sharks has begun this shortened NHL season on a tear. Patrick Marleau entered Thursday night’s game against the Edmonton Oilers with a six-game scoring streak, a run that included five multi-point games. Marleau opened the season with multi-goal games to propel him to the top of the category. […]
Week 2 FMC: Willis McGahee, RB, Denver Broncos
Sure, I could go the easy route and highlight the genius of C.J. Spiller and his 10.1 YPC average through two weeks. I could extol the virtues of Robert Griffin III or Reggie Bush’s dominance of the Raiders. But, I won’t. I’m giving the Week 2 FMC nod to Broncos running back Willis McGahee. McGahee […]
Fantasy Man-Crush: Tony Romo, DAL
I could have copped out and put Kevin Ogletree in this spot. As much as I’d like to celebrate the “one-percenters” out there that had the little-used wide receiver on their rosters (and his family members who started him), Tony Romo gets the nod for the opener. Of course, many owners raised their eyebrows and […]
FMC: The Oneders Propel Calipari to His First Title
He’s one of the most divisive men in sports. You say the name “Calipari” amongst a group of college hoops fans and you’re more likely to hear diatribes about the NCAA and vacated Final Four appearances than an assessment of his coaching and recruiting skills. No coach has embraced the changing landscape of the college […]
FMC: John Elway of the Denver Broncos
He’s a two-time Super Bowl winner and Hall of Famer. He’s now charged with leading the Broncos back on the road to New Orleans and the Lombardi Trophy. In a week when Roger Goodell laid the proverbial smackdown to the Saints in the bounty scandal and left no question as to his authority, Elway did […]
FMC: Matthew Stafford, QB, DET
I like bravado. I like swagger … and I have to like what I’ve seen from the Detroit offense. Sure, the Vikings got after Stafford early, but he knows the cure-all. Get the ball in the direction of Calvin and marvel at the effort.
FMC: Pat Fitzgerald, Coach of the Northwestern Wildcats
OK, so this isn’t really a fantasy story, but it’s the best line of the week. Northwestern University has put together a Heisman campaign for quarterback Dan Persa, who is returning from an ACL injury. When asked about his quarterback’s comeback and the limp exhibited in camp, Fitzgerald responded with a drop-the-mic line … ‘‘Your […]
FMC: Jair Jurrjens Continues to Mystify Hitters
On Wednesday night, Atlanta hurler Jair Jurrjens continued his fantastic rebound season with another lights-out effort against the Rockies. Jurrjens allowed one earned run on five hits and two walks over six innings. He reduced his ERA to a ridiculous 1.87 mark (1.06 WHIP) and earned his 12th win of the season. Jurrjens has achieved […]
FMC: Andrew Bynum of the Los Angeles Lakers
If you rewind to the NBA trade deadline, there was a lot of talk about the possibility of the Lakers parting with 23-year old center Andrew Bynum. There were many clamoring for Bynum to be shipped to Denver in exchange for Carmelo Anthony. For all of the excitement about Bynum’s skillset and potential (the always […]
FMC: Aaron Rodgers, GB
Rodgers took care of business in the Wild Card round in defeating the Eagles. He dominated the Falcons in the divisional round to set up Round III of the NFC North battle with the Bears. Rodgers passed for 366 yards with three touchdowns and added a rushing touchdown in the 48-21 blowout win over Atlanta. […]
FMC: Matt Hasselbeck Leads The Seahawks
Amid a great deal of controversy about their entrance to the playoffs (let alone the ability to host a playoff game), Matt Hasselbeck and the Seahawks went to work against the Gregg Williams’ defense. Remember, the Saints had allowed only 13 passing touchdowns all season. Hasselbeck threw four on Sunday, taking multiple shots over the […]
FMC: Andrew Luck of Stanford
In what may be (should be) his final game as a collegiate athlete, Andrew Luck directed the Stanford Cardinal to a resounding 40-12 win over Virginia Tech. Frank Beamer’s vaunted defense was no match for Jim Harbaugh’s (49ers?) offense, as Luck capped off a fantastic season with a 284-yard, four-touchdown performance. He threw one interception, […]
FMC: Cam Newton of the Auburn Tigers
If you haven’t watched a lot of college football, break out a Thesaurus, look up “great” and just start reading. Then, pull up his stats , get cracking on YouTube and let that new-found litany of adjectives fly. Newton was electrifying in the SEC Championship Game, single-handedly dismantling the South Carolina Gamecocks and leaving Steve […]