We’ve got more of the 2009-10 RotoRob NBA Draft Kit for your reading pleasure today. While you wonder just what Delonte West was up to during his absence, let’s take a look at the team that upset West’s Cavs in last season’s Conference Semifinals, the defending Eastern Conference Champion Orlando Magic.

For a team that made the NBA Finals last season, the Orlando Magic sure are not satisfied. A successful 2009-2009 campaign saw the Magic be the surprise of the league, defeating not only the defending champion Boston Celtics in the playoffs, but the number one seed Cleveland Cavaliers, led by LeBron James. But its 4-1 drubbing by the Lakers in the Finals prompted Otis Smith and the rest of the Magic front office to say “Change. Yes We Can!” And as a result, a big offseason took place in the Magic Kingdom.

It seems Fantasy owners either love or hate Vince Carter. If you’re a Fantasy owner who is also a Magic fan, it is time to love Carter. This offseason saw the Magic trade away rookie sensation Courtney Lee, Rafer Alston and Tony Battie to acquire Carter and second-year forward Ryan Anderson. This was quite a surprising move considering how high some people believe the Fantasy ceiling is for the impressive Lee. The Magic also lost one of the best defensive players from last year’s Finals team in Hedo Turkoglu when he signed with the Toronto Raptors as part of a sign-and-trade deal. Finally, the Magic was able to sign free agent forward Brandon Bass, known for his defense, as well as retaining promising centre Marcin Gortat despite the fact that the Mavericks signed him to a large offer sheet.

That is a fairly busy offseason for a club with a bright future. The Magic expect Jameer Nelson to be healthy for the entire upcoming season and that Dwight Howard will only continue to improve his offensive game.

Projected Starting Lineup

PG: Jameer Nelson
SG: Vince Carter
SF: Mickael Pietrus
PF: Rashard Lewis
C: Dwight Howard

Key Bench Players

Bass, Gortat, Jason Williams, J.J. Redick, Matt Barnes, Anderson

Position Battles

If Pietrus isn’t up to the task as the starting SF, Carter could take that job, leaving Pietrus and Redick to slug it out for time at the two-guard spot. Pietrus is very injury prone, so the still-intriguing pure shooter Redick has a chance to emerge as a real sleeper.

Stud

Sure, he can’t shoot free throws and might kill your Fantasy team in one category, but you still have to love Howard. He did progressively get better towards the end of the season at the line (until a bit of a swoon in April), and even had a few solid games in the playoffs. Plus the guy gives you a double-double night in and night out, meaning it doesn’t matter how ridiculous head coach Super Mario jerks around his front line. Howard will be in there every night averaging a double-double just like last season’s 20.6 PPG and 13.8 RPG. Whether you like Superman or not, you have to know he’s a great Fantasy player.

Dud

This is too easy. Carter will play hard for a month or two and will eventually start not giving a damn when he realizes Howard and Nelson are the stars of the team. He can be a great scorer, albeit a ball hog, when he feels like playing hard. But that’s always been Carter’s problem wherever he has played throughout his career. He only plays when he feels like it! Expect a rollercoaster of stats from Carter this season. Ride him while he’s hot, and bench him as soon as he starts to look too stoned to care during the games.

Sleeper

Free agent pick up Bass should be a great man off the bench for this year and could potentially be a viable sleeper option. He averaged 8.5 points per contest as well as grabbing 4.5 boards per game last season. Bass is also almost an 87 per cent free throw shooter, which should help owners out right there if he can slash to the hole and receive the freebie opportunities.

Rookies to Watch

Orlando has no rookies on this year’s team, having dealt away its first round pick in a three-team deal last season that netted it Rafer Alston. The Magic traded its 2009 second round pick back in 2007 as part of the Rashard Lewis deal.

Fantasy Stories to Watch

Make sure you keep a close eye on how Nelson is recovering from his various injuries last season. When healthy, he is one of the best point guards in the league and a fantastic Fantasy component, averaging 16.7 points per contest and 5.4 assists. With another year under his belt, he should only improve on those numbers if healthy. Also make sure to keep watch Carter. If he looks like he will play hard all season he should be a 25 point a night guy who could help your Fantasy team as long as his field goal percentage from jacking up 40-foot 3s doesn’t hurt you.

The 2009-10 RotoRob NBA Draft Kit rages on with yet another team preview.

Clipper Nation went from about 10 to five fans after Donald Sterling once again refused to fire Mike Dunleavy not only during the season, but after they finished a pathetic 19-63 to “commemorate” their 25th anniversary of being the Lakers’ little brother. Prior to the season starting, things were promising. The Clippers made a strong acquisition in Baron “I play when I want” Davis to hopefully boost the chances of re-signing their stud Elton Brand.

But Brand shocked the team when he bolted for Philadelphia, leaving Davis in “I don’t care mode” for the rest of the year. Even worse, in November the Clippers thought taking the one billion dollar contract of Zach Randolph off the hands of the Knicks would help improve their team. It didn’t. But fortunately they rid themselves of him this offseason.

The best thing about this past year for the Clippers was winning the lottery, literally and figuratively, in a weak draft, and earning the rights to Oklahoma star Blake Griffin. While their lineup for next season isn’t looking too bad on paper, you still have to throw in the X factor turd-Mike Dunleavy.

Projected Starting Lineup

PG: Baron Davis
SG: Eric Gordon
SF: Al Thornton
PF: Blake Griffin
C: Marcus Camby

Key Bench Players

Ricky Davis, Rasual Butler, Mardy Collins, Chris Kaman

Position Battles

There could potentially be a lot of position battles seeing as how the Clippers are terrible. The biggest battle will most likely be between Kaman and Camby as Griffin is almost a sure thing to slide into the starting power forward role.

Camby and Kaman are both very effective rebounders when healthy, which tends to be a rarity. They both fall quicker than bowling pins. Due to injury, Kaman only played in 31 contests last year, averaging 12 points and eight boards. The mountain man has shown a knack to pull down 20 boards in a game and despite being the ugliest NBA player alive, is a quality performer and could help form a nice three-man rotation with Griffin and Camby.

Last season, Camby played in twice as many games as Kaman, that being 62, and averaged a strong double-double with 10 points and 11 boards per game. He’s always had a knack for being a big blocked shots and rebound guy. If Griffin is the real deal, there is a strong potential for the Clippers to have one of the best rebounding frontcourts in the leagues, as well as a lot of bickering between Kaman and Camby.

Stud

Gordon was the only real bright spot on a horrid team last season. He averaged 16 points per game and if given the opportunity could be close to an All-Star player next season (barring Davis not jacking up 20 threes a game and making two of them). The second-year player out of Indiana showed last season that he actually does give a damn and would like to win games and can be a leader on the court even when players such as Davis mope for 48 minutes. Starting at the two guard, expect big things out of Gordon this year.

Dud

Believe it or not, I think Griffin will disappoint. This year’s draft was notorious for its lack of depth, so naturally the overall pick has to be a bit weaker too, right? While most might disagree, if you watched Griffin in college it seemed all of his points came from two handed dunks, a la Greg Oden. By the way, how have Oden’s first two years gone with the Blazers? Griffin to me is a lesser version of Dwight Howard, an All-Star albeit, but a player with little offense (however, a terrific rebounder and shot blocker). It just seems that the hopes for the number one overall pick are through the roof and there is room for him to quickly turn Fantasy owners sour when he averages a mere seven points and five boards per game.

Sleeper

Butler could get a solid 20 minutes a game, and put up decent Fantasy reserve numbers. He averaged a nice 10 points per contest last season and could improve his assist and rebound numbers this year. Granted, who knows what the genius Dunleavy will do. Maybe he will bench Butler for two months, and then play him for a week straight.

Rookies to Watch

Griffin is the only rookie on their roster so naturally watch him. After insane numbers in college, I think he will eventually produce in the NBA but not yet. This year will be a learning year so don’t rely on him too much yet on your Fantasy teams.

Fantasy Stories to Watch

Will Dunleavy let any of his young stars develop? Or will he continue to jerk around his roster and completely deplete the confidence of all his younger players? The Clippers might be as talented as any of the lower tier Western Conference teams and certainly some of the best rebounders, but whether they can turn that talent into victories in the ‘09-10 season is a different story.

We’ve got more of the 2009 RotoRob NFL Draft Kit today, with the release of yet another team preview. We’re going to try to shoot out all these team previews and then start releasing the kit’s other goodies (cheat sheets, sleepers/busts lists, etc.). Don’t change that channel!

What Went Right

Coming off their first season without Michael Vick, little was expected again of the Falcons, especially considering they were starting a rookie quarterback in Matt Ryan. A big free agent pick up in Michael “Burner” Turner, the former backup to Ladainian Tomlinson in San Diego, boosted expectations to a possible .500 finish on the season. But the Falcons flew high and exceeded all prognostications last year, finishing with an 11-5 record and making it to the playoffs where they eventually fell to NFC Champion Arizona. Turner rushed for 1,699 yards and 17 touchdowns en route to his first Pro Bowl berth. Along the way, he set a franchise record with 220 yards in the first week of the season against Detroit. Roddy White proved to be Ryan’s go-to receiver, following up his solid 2007 campaign with an even better 2008, registering 1,382 yards receiving and seven touchdowns. Ryan, Turner, and White were the three biggest reasons the Falcons went from a minuscule four-win season in ‘07 to an 11-win season in ‘08.

What Went Wrong

After a surprising season saw the Falcons reach the playoffs, expectations were high to beat an Arizona Cardinals team which had won the weak NFC West with a 9-7 finish. But it was not to be, as the Cardinals were led by the playoff experience of veterans Kurt Warner and Edgerrin James and the Falcons fell in the Wild Card game. Most expected Atlanta to at least make it to the second round, so to fall short in the first round was a disappointment. A December 7th loss to the Saints, a 29-25 defeat, effectively ruined the Falcons’ chances at a division title and potential first round bye. Atlanta led in the fourth quarter 25-22, but its special teams collapsed as Pierre Thomas returned a kickoff 88 yards for the go-ahead score for the Saints which would prove to be the final scoring in the contest. Turner was held to just 61 yards rushing on 18 carries for one of his least effective games of the season. That being said, there wasn’t too much that went wrong this season for the Falcons as they shocked us all by making the playoffs and had an above average defense led by young Jamaal Anderson at defensive end and John Abraham, who recorded 16.5 sacks.

Off-season Outlook

The Falcons finally released embattled quarterback Michael Vick on Thursday, effectively cutting all ties with their former “dawg.” Moving forward with NFC offensive rookie of the year Ryan at the helm, Atlanta traded for future Hall of Famer Tony Gonzalez, getting him for just a 2010 second round pick. This was a huge move, giving the Falcons a huge target with one of the best receiving tight ends of all time. With White, Ryan, Turner, and now Gonzalez, the Falcon offense looks to start the season as one of the most powerful in the NFC.

Draft Outlook

Atlanta made only one insignificant draft day trade but still had a productive two days overall, selecting seven defensive players highlighted by number 24 pick Peria Jerry, a defensive tackle out of Ole Miss. The Falcons also upgraded their secondary with a solid pick in safety William Moore, who had an outstanding career with the Maryland Terrapins and should prove to be the man in waiting behind incumbent Erik Coleman.

State of the Team

Quarterbacks

Year two of the Ryan regime will show whether last year was a one hit wonder or he is the real deal. But if last season was any indication of how his career will go, expect a Pro Bowl caliber season from the young quarterback. His 16 touchdown passes in 2008 will most likely increase this season with the addition of Gonzalez at tight end. Ryan showed he can lead as a rookie last season, but the next step for him is to lead the Falcons to a playoff victory and beyond.

Running Backs

Turner had everyone hatin’ on him last season after the Falcons gave him a big contract. His doubters said he wouldn’t be able to handle the full load after spending the early parts of his career as LT’s backup. I bet they all feel stupid now. Turner was outstanding last season, and only looks to improve on his numbers even more this season. With Jerious Norwood also in the backfield, Atlanta has a great back to spell Turner. The two rushed for over 2,400 yards combined last season and could potentially improve that this season behind a solid offensive line.

Tight Ends

The tight end position was not utilized too much last season with the solid play of White and rookie wide receiver Harry Douglas. But with the off-season acquisition of Gonzalez, this position will be much more than just a blocker this year. Expect big things from Gonzalez at tight end, but also expect him to be an effective blocker with his big frame and strength.

Defense/Special Teams

The Falcons return all their key components from the 2008 squad, which was led by Abraham’s monster season. With the addition of seven defensive players via the draft, expect to see a few rookies step in right away and get solid playing time, namely Jerry at defensive tackle. The D-line is very fast and should be near the league leaders in sacks once again. The special teams return incumbent place kicker Jason Elam, one of the best all time, and back-up running back and kick returner Norwood, who has unparalleled speed. The Falcons will once again be solid on special teams.

When Terry Porter went away, so did the Suns defense. But apparently, the fast-paced offense that made fans all over the nation love the Suns — before GM Steve Kerr imploded the team and Mike D’antoni went to the Knicks — is back. Before Sunday’s contest against the Celtics, the Suns had scored 140+ points in each contest since the All-Star break, going an impressive 3-0 under new coach Alvin Gentry. Of course, that included back-to-back games against the Clippers and then one against the Thunder, and neither of those teams exhibit what would be anyone’s idea of tight D.

Sunday started off on pace for another 140 point performance despite the Suns missing superstar Amare Stoudemire, who is out eight-to-10 weeks after eye surgery, and the Celts missing Kevin Garnett, who is also out at least two weeks, courtesy of a knee injury.

That being said, the lack of defense for the Suns stuck out like a stupid twist in an M. Night Shyamlanan movie. Despite giving up a monster 38 points to the KG-less Celtics in the first quarter, they trailed by only five thanks to another solid early shooting performance by Leandro Barbosa. The second quarter saw the sizzling Suns cool off, which makes it difficult to stay in the game with their lack of defense. The Celtics continued shooting well, outscoring the Suns 30-21 in the quarter, led by Rajon Rondo’s 14 points, to enter halftime with a commanding 68-54 lead, with eyes on a blowout.

The third quarter featured the trading of baskets by the two teams as the Suns could never cut the lead down under 11, and Phoenix entered the fourth quarter trailing by 13, clearly suffering the loss of Stoudemire more than the Celts were missing The Big Ticket.

The game was essentially over as the Atlantic-leading Celts pulled away and cruised to a 128-108 victory behind 89 points from Rondo, Ray Allen, and Paul Pierce. For the contest, Boston shot a ridiculous 63 per cent from the field. Hey Suns fans, at least you’re back to that D’antoni offense you all missed!

By the way, with both Rondo and Allen going for over 30 points, it marked the first time that both members of the Boston’s starting backcourt scored at least 30 in the same game since January, 1977, when — ghet ready for it — Jo Jo White and Charlie Scott turned the trick. How’s that for some retro Beantown love?

Who to Watch

Rajon Rondo, PG: He’s already obviously a must-start in any fantasy league, but Sunday was just more evidence of how fast-rising this young superstar is. And he did it all on his 23rd birthday, no less. With KG out, he picked up the slack, scoring a career high 32 points while also dishing out 10 assists, giving him his fourth double double of the month (including a triple double). With Garnett expected at least a couple of weeks, Rondo will likely up his scoring greater than his season average of 11 (and, in fact, he’s scored at least 15 points in each of the past three games). He also shot an impressive 13-for-18 from the field on Sunday, although he did, as usual, struggle from the line, going only 5-for-9. Unless you are intentionally trying to throw the league, start Rondo and expect a boost in production. Is it just me, or has Rondo become a serious leader on this team of leaders?

Brian Scalabrine, C: Give the big red head some love! He takes a lot of bashes for being a waste of space, but the he can produce when asked upon. With Garnett out, Scalabrine showed he might be somewhat useful, pouring in 14 points and hitting a pair of treys. However, I’d like to see more than two boards from my big man. If you’re worried about rebound production with KG out, Scalabrine might not be the best option as he’s a bit more of a perimeter player, but if he gets you close to 10 points a game, that might prove useful in a very deep league. He might be a reach, but if he continues to have games like Sunday I’d say he’s worth watching, at the very least.

Leandro Barbosa, SG: The Brazilian Blur is finally an offensive threat again after the wheelchair Porter offense was removed. Of course, the loss of Stoudemire and his shifting into the starting lineup sure helps, too. After scoring a career-high 41 against the Clippers in his last contest, Barbosa had a more modest showing on Sunday going for 18 points, four rebounds, two assists, three steals one three-pointer and even a block, to fill the stat sheet. A rarity on a team that doesn’t play much defense, Barbosa will get you some steals with that crazy speed and he’s shown since the break that he is capable of putting up crazy good numbers in the Gentry era. If you have him and haven’t reinserted him into your lineup get your head out of your you know what and put him back in. And if you’re in a shallow league, check the wire to see if he’s been dropped; it’s possible, considering what a disappointing season it’s been up until now for Barbosa.

Louis Amundson, PF: Amundson figures to get a lot of playing time with Stoudemire out, but he better not piss off any more of the league’s thugs like he did to Zach Randolph of the Clippers or he’ll expect another “POW! right in the kissa.” Amundson didn’t see enough PT to be useful e on Sunday, going 2-for-4 from the field for four points and only one rebound. He’s only averaged 3.6 points and 3.3 rebounds this season, but the 26-year-old UNLV product had a nice showing on Tuesday, when he got smacked by Randolph, but still dropped in 13 points with eight boards. Don’t pick him up yet, but monitor the next few games to see how his PT progresses, and if he can average closer to 25 MPG, he might be worth a pick up, especially if you are one of the unfortunate few to have been playing Stoudemire.

BY DANIEL OLSON, HERIJA GREEN AND ROTOROB

And we’re back! After regaling you with our hockey and baseball awards, we roll out the red carpet over the hardwood floors to bring you the 2008 RotoRob Basketball Awards. Let the hardware flow!

Fantasy Stud of the Year

Kevin Garnett, Boston Celtics: Ask and ye shall receive. Kevin Garnett just wanted to win, and the former Kid, getting up there in age, was no longer one. The 2007 offseason saw him traded to a Boston team who had sent a massive package to Minny that was built around young stud Al Jefferson. The Celtics then continued to trade, adding TAFKA Supersonic Ray Allen (that’s The Artist Formerly Known As by the way), giving Beantown a “Big Three” in Allen, Garnett, and incumbent Paul Pierce. Garnett didn’t disappoint, leading the Celtics to an outstanding 66-16 record which is even more amazing considering their head coach is Doc “Sleepy” Rivers, who just the previous season guided them to a 24-58 record and a last place finish in the Atlantic Division. Now granted, Garnett had help with Allen and Pierce in Boston, but he was the real deal and the main reason in this writer’s humble opinion the championship was won. While from a purely fantasy perspective, there were much better performances (how about LeBron James’s season? Or the total dominance of Chris Paul? Or the amazing comeback that Dwyane Wade has made this season? Or the continued escalation into elite status of Danny Granger? Or the beast that is Dwight Howard?), KG did average 18.8 points and 9.2 rebounds last season, while doing the little things to help lead his Celtics to the 2007-08 championship. Even when the C’s made a late season pick up of E.T. (aka, Sam Cassell), Garnett wasn’t rattled and continued his stellar season. A complete player his whole career, Garnett continued his dishing out assists like candy to a trick-or-treater and denying shots like the Soup Nazi denies his beloved broth. A first championship for Garnett and the other two-thirds of the Three Amigos earns The Big Ticket the 2008 Stud of the Year Award.

Daps also must be given to King James, who had another outstanding season, as well as Kobe Bryant who helped lead the surprising Lakers to the Western Conference Title before they bowed out to the Celtics.

Fantasy Dud of the Year

Bling, including a shiny new RotoRob Golden Athletic Supporter, is something Starbury has plenty of. It is fantasy value where he is lacking.

Stephon Marbury, New York Knicks: What’s better, the Starbury $10 dollar sneaker line or Starbury’s game on the court? I’m going with the sneaker. The 2007-2008 season saw Marbury throw up stinkers every game, averaging a career low 13.9 pointes per game while only dishing out just over four assists per game. He also shot a miniscule 41.9 per cent from the field, which was actually an improvement over the season before, but will hardly help you bag a FG win in your fantasy league. Marbury helped lead to the exit of former coach Isiah Thomas (although Thomas was a turd even without Starbury), and another terrible record for the New York Knickerbockers. Fast forward to the current 2008-2009 season with new coach Mike D’antoni and his run and gun offense. D’antoni didn’t see Starbury fit in his offense (but really, what offense does he fit in? Don’t do it, Boston) and benched him for the start of the season. Because of injuries and inactive players, the Knicks only had seven players available in a November contest, but Starbury refused to suit up and play. How the hell do you have to pay a guy who makes over $20 million dollars and refuses to suit up and play for the legendary Knicks? Not only is Starbury a dud over the course of two seasons, his clothing looks ridiculous.

Okay, I’m done with you, Starbury. Apologies go to the cheeseburger eating Sean May of the Bobcats who has eaten his way out of the lineup; Ben Wallace, who somehow bagged himself a ludicrous contract and wound up on a team in which he shows how terrible he really is; and Smush Parker for continually sucking as well as having the name “Smush.”

Fantasy Rookie of the Year

Kevin Durant dunked himself to top rookie honours.

As much as I’d like to give this award to Al Horford, the development of Kevin Durant this season pushes him over the top. The 6-foot-9 forward has dramatically improved his shot from beyond the arc – 28.8 per cent as a rookie, 44.8 per cent this year – which has helped to push his scoring average to 23.7 points per game. His rebounding is up, too, though his turnover numbers are still too high. It’s hard to nitpick about the 20-year-old’s game too much, and he is certainly deserving of top rookie honours in fantasy hoops.

Honourable Mention: I love Horford’s all-around game, and he has quietly almost doubled his assist and block totals from his rookie year while now shooting better than 51 per cent. His rebounding and scoring numbers have stagnated or even fallen, however, which helped make Durant the choice.

Others of Note: Derrick Rose and O.J. Mayo have both made major impacts, but I just couldn’t see picking either of them over Durant (or Horford for that matter) with such a small sample size. Both have exceeded my expectations, particularly Mayo, who is averaging better than 20 points per game and still shooting a respectable 46 per cent from the field.

Fantasy Comeback Player of the Year

While RJ addressed the whole coming out of the closet rumours by posing with hotties, he was earning Comeback Player of the Year honours.

Following an injury plagued 2006-07 season, Richard Jefferson bounced back in 2007-08 to re-establish himself among the league’s better small forwards. After averaging just 16.3 points per game in ‘06-07, Jefferson tallied a career-high 22.7 PPG last season and is totaling 17.7 per contest this year. His rebounding has never returned to his pre-2006 form, but he’s hovering right around five boards per night since joining the Bucks. RJ’s overall shooting is down (42.7 per cent), though he is enjoying his best year from beyond the arc (39.8 per cent). It was a close call, but Jefferson gets the nod in a tight race over Baron Davis.

Honourable Mention: Last season, Davis stayed healthy for the first time since 2001-02 and filled up box scores to the tune of 21.8 points, 4.7 rebounds and 7.6 assists per game. His numbers, particularly his shooting, have taken a dip since relocating to Hollywood, but B-Diddy is still returning good value (when healthy, which he currently isn’t).

Others of Note: Brad Miller averaged 13.4 points and 9.5 boards in ‘07-08 after managing just 9.0 and 6.4 the previous season…After playing just 13 games in 2006-07, Peja Stojakovic played in 77 games last season, tying for the NBA lead in three-pointers made per game and averaging 16.4 points.

Don’t Try This in Bed Award

No Bull — Derrick Rose needs to learn some lessons on the dangers of knives in the bedroom.

Bulls rookie Derrick Rose missed out on our Fantasy Rookie of the Year honours, but he gets a Golden Athletic Supporter for opening a gash on his own arm by rolling onto a knife while in bed. Uh, yeah…what you do in your spare time is your business, Derrick. He said he was carving an apple in bed, and supposedly he simply left the knife in bed with him, rolling onto it and slashing himself to the tune of a 10-stitch cut. Here’s a tip, Mr. Rose: if you ever father a baby, don’t bring the tot to bed with you. I would also advise against bringing your pet jellyfish into your bed. For that matter, a land mine would be a poor choice for a bed companion too. And whatever you do, do not share your bed with a Brazilian Wandering Spider.

Lame-Ass Timing Award

When Carlos Boozer opens his gargantuan mouth, stupid things come out.

While we’re dispensing advice, here’s a juicy piece of it for Carlos Boozer: timing is everything, man. Boozer, sidelined for weeks with a knee injury with no clear return date in sight, proclaimed that he was going to opt out of his contract after this season and seek the best possible deal. Um, dude…everyone is already frustrated with you because you can’t stay healthy (some have suggested he’s not exactly motivated to return), and now you’re talking about heading for greener pastures and more money? Jazz owner Larry Miller took particular exception and didn’t hide his disgust, saying “It’s one of the top 10 stupidest things I’ve heard an NBA player do in 20 years.” Unfortunately, we don’t know what else made Miller’s top 10 list (perhaps we’ll do some research on that one), but we do know that Boozer isn’t exactly the Polygamist State’s favourite son these days.

Quote of the Year

When Jarvis Hayes (22) isn’t teaming up with Brook Lopez to gang rape Vince Carter, he can be found dragging midgets around. (AP Photo/Bill Kostroun)

New Jersey Nets forward Jarvis Hayes suffered a hamstring injury which knocked him out of action for a few games earlier this season. This is how he tried to explain the pain: “Sometimes you get out and try to run and it feels like a midget pulling on your coattails.” Um…okay. Now, how exactly do you know how that feels, Jarvis? Anything you want to tell us? Regardless of his sexual (or other) exploits with extremely short people, kudos to Hayes for straying from the typical bland media-speak quotes.

Stalkee of the Year

Apparently, Luke Walton’s wife beater sends the ladies into a tizzy. And by tizzy I mean murderous rampage.

Los Angeles Laker forward Luke Walton has never really managed to put much of a dent in the NBA star machine, especially considering his famous sire. Just try telling that to Stacy Elizabeth Beshear, who apparently doesn’t realize that Walton is a middling NBAer, as he is her main man, so much so that she was arrested for stalking him. In mid-September, when Beshear pulled up near Walton’s car and pretended to fire a gun at him with her hand, he had decided he had seen enough. Apparently, for about a year, Beshear had been following Walton and parking outside his house for hours. He claims she also vandalized his car with a marker after he refused to give her an autograph. The fake gun thing was the clincher for Walton, who came to the realization that Beshear was potentially dangerous. I’m not exactly sure what Walton’s problem was – don’t most athletes want to have fans? And this dude goes and get his only fan busted.

Pillsbury Doughboy Award

We would never accuse Don Nelson as being gutless.

Fiery, irascible and unpredictable Don Nelson finally admitted that life as an NBA coach is getting to him. After witnessing his Warriors get bitch-slapped time and time again thanks to the NBA’s most porous defense (a defense that had held its opponents to under 100 points just four times in 27 tries), Nellie decided he had seen enough and handed the defensive responsibilities of the team over to two of his assistant coaches. “I’m not tough enough anymore,” said the 68-year-old. “I’m getting soft as I get older and I feel like I haven’t done a very good job defensively this year.” To anyone who has (a) take a recent gander at Nelson’s protruding waistline; or (b) watched even two minutes of Golden State basketball this season, these two statements are rather self-evident. But thanks for clarifying things for us, coach!

The Inspiring Confidence Award

Okay, so explain to me again what I do with this orange thingy?

The Sacramento Kings, once one of the most consistent winners in the NBA, have obviously fallen on hard times in recent years. While they showed some improvement last season thanks to a better offense, everything has fallen apart this year as the team stands on the verge of a major overhaul. The King offense sucks; the King defense sucks. In fact, veteran centre Brad Miller summed up the entire situation quite nicely with this gem: “A lot of times we really don’t even know what we are doing,” he said. Now, that’s a good way to inspire confidence in your team. When in doubt, admit complete futility.

BY DANIEL OLSON, TIM McLEOD AND ROTOROB

We continue our third annual awards today with the release of the baseball honours. Hockey can be found here, and basketball and football will follow shortly.

Fantasy Stud of the Year

Josh Hamilton, OF, Texas Rangers: Rick James once said “Cocaine is a helluva’ drug.” Nobody knows this better then Hambone. After being selected as the first overall pick by the Tampa Bay Rays, Hamilton struggled with his drug addiction and nearly hit rock bottom while being out of the big leagues. Fortunately for him, he overcame his addiction and made it back to the big leagues in 2007 with the Cincinnati Reds and had a very successful campaign, batting .292 with 19 home runs and 47 RBI in only 90 games. That offseason he was dealt to the Texas Rangers for phenom Edison Volquez in what would prove to be one of the most equal trades in the history of the world. While the pitching-starved Rangers likely could have used Volquez, I’m sure they were plenty satisfied with the Hambino. He batted .304 with 32 home runs and an AL-leading 130 RBI for the GW Bush Rangers last season. You gotta feel bad for the guy being on the Rangers, who haven’t won anything since 1876, but he still had a monster 2008 and all indications are he’s primed for a solid 2009.

Fantasy Dud of the Year

How many of you had September 2 written down for the date of V-Mart’s first dinger? Can you say dud?

Victor Martinez, Cleveland Indians: As the premier catcher in baseball heading into the 2008 campaign (after all, he was coming off of a monster 25-homer, 114-RBI season in 2007), Martinez’s collapse did irreparable damage to many a fantasy team this past season. When one invests early in a catcher in fantasy drafts and he proceeds to hit his first homer of the season on September 2, it is not a good sign. In 2008, V-Mart shattered more fantasy dreams than Freddy Krueger, earning him the distinction of being our Fantasy Dud of the Year.

Honourable mention: J.J. Putz, Chris Young (pick one, they both killed you), Rafael Furcal, Carl Crawford, Eric Byrnes, David Ortiz and Erik Bedard.

Fantasy Rookie of the Year

Geovany Soto’s stick and glove earned him a RotoRob Award.

Geovany Soto, Chicago Cubs: In a year filled with great performances from first-year players, two youngsters stood out above the rest. Soto and Evan Longoria, the respective ROY winners in both the NL and AL in 2008, had truly great first campaigns. Not to take anything away from the great year by Longoria, but we have to toss our support behind Soto for the 2008 RotoRob Rookie of the Year Award. In 2008, he finished tied for first in homers by a catcher with 23, third in RBI with 86, fourth with a .285 BA and second with an OPS of 874. In fact, Soto was one of only three catchers to finish the season with an OPS above 800. Truly outstanding statistics – especially for a young backstop — but the clincher has to be the way he handled himself behind the plate. Soto’s catcher ERA was a solid third overall at 3.82, and his scant five errors contributed to a great .995 fielding percentage. Soto is a truly deserving winner and is a cornerstone of what should be another strong Cubbies team heading into 2009.

Honourable Mentions: Longoria, Joey Votto, Jair Jurrjens, Alexei Ramirez and Jacoby Ellsbury.

Fantasy Comeback Player of the Year

Cliff Lee’s Cy Young season earned him the nod as our Comeback Player of the Year.

Cliff Lee, SP, Cleveland Indians: Where oh where did Mr. Lee come from? A disappointing 2007 season saw Lee go 5-8 with a 6.29 ERA. Compare that to a 22-3 record with a 2.54 ERA and you might find yourself scratching your head in a bit wishing you had drafted him in your fantasy league. Lee’s incredible season in ‘08 earned him the AL Cy Young Award as well as a shot at a fat new contract. He had shown glimpses of being great, but a dismal ‘07 season left expectations at a minuscule level heading into 2008. He clearly found his inner Ricky “Wild Thing” Vaughn for the Indians this season and didn’t even lose a game until mid May. Even more impressive, Lee struck out 170 batters while only walking 34 throughout the campaign. Pretty damn impressive, if you ask me. While the Indians missed the playoffs last season, if Lee can continue his magic this coming season, he’ll give his Indians a great shot at competing for the AL Central title. Miracles can happen and a change in your routine can help your game, and yes I’m talking to you, Carlos Silva (a winner of a less desired RotoRob Award…see below).

The Anita Ward Award

Nothing screams Wall Street like Mitch Williams and salsa.

For some bizarre reason, Mitch “Wild Thing” Williams, the former Phillie closer, was asked to ring the NASDAQ opening bell on August 29. Now the owner of Wild Thing 99 Foods, which manufactures Williams’ own recipes (including his apparently famous salsa), Williams bags the Anita Ward (remember her classic, “You Can Ring My Bell”?) Award for this strange brew of horrible control, high finance and salsa. Mix them all together and you got a disco party ballgame during which the Wild Thing got confused and wound up throwing the bell at the NASDAQ mascot, missing by 30 feet. Fortunately, the financial gurus hit into a double play on the next pitch and Williams held on for the shaky save. Salsa wrestling by disco ball soon ensued and a good time was had by all. Okay, so most of this is completely fabricated, but damn, it’s so weird, I just went with it.

Vendor of the Year

Sure you can have a beer, kid…just don’t tell your daddy who gave it to you.

This summer, there was a major outcry at Rogers Centre, home of the Blue Jays, after one of the stadium’s most venerable vendors was fired because he failed to ask for ID when selling beer to a 22-year-old. Wayne McMahon, who is 61, but looks about 81 (clearly, he’s sampled a few of his own products from time to time), was most famous as the dude who would chant “ice cooooooooooooold beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeer” — a marketing ploy that always seemed to please Jay fans (did I mention how boring Blue Jay games can be?). The whole episode was sting-like in its operation, as Aramark, the company that oversees concessions at the Rogers Centre, had planted a mystery shopper well in the middle of the aisle, and McMahon served him a beer without asking for ID to prove he was of drinking age. (Company policy is to card anyone who appears to be under the age of 30; come to think of it, why haven’t I been carded?) So what do you expect? The dude in question was 16 seats from the aisle and McMahon said that one of the people sitting on the aisle asked him to send along the beers. How do you expect this aging ale hawker to even be able to see that far, never mind actually identify that it was a human he was selling beer to, as opposed to, say, a lemur? The whole episode caused quite a stir in Toronto (I did mention how bored people are there, right?), and McMahon was never able to get his gig back, even though he secured the services of a lawyer. Hell, even a Facebook page was created to draw up support for the cause. At one point, the damn thing had over 23,000 members! That’s more people than are usually in attendance at a Jay game, unless Boston or the Yanks are in town. Well, at least there was some excitement at the Toronto ball park last season.

The Throwing Good Money at Bad Award

Carlos Silva a $45 million man? Uh, ya.

Too many burritos and enchilada platters for Carlos Silva led to a disappointing season and the unfortunate distinction of winning (on behalf of the Mariners) the 2008 Throwing Good Money at Bad Award. Silva signed a huge off-season contract with Seattle for four years and $45 million dollars, but this isn’t what the Em City faithful had in mind. April started off well enough for the veteran right hander as he 3-0 with a 2.79 ERA, tricking Mariner GM Bill Bavasi into thinking he was a genius. But then Silva showed his true ugly self for the rest of the season. May saw him go 0-5 with an ERA ballooning to over six. The rest of the season didn’t go any better as Silva must have found himself at the Taco Bell much too often and he finished the season with a pathetic 4-15 record and a 6.46 ERA. For $45 million, maybe the Mariners should let me pitch, as I could probably have comparable stats to those terrible numbers. Beyond Silva’s terrible season (other than April), he began to lash out to the media that his teammates didn’t back him or support him. Um…duh! You throw meatballs to the plate and allowed 20 home runs this season, dude. Silva seems to be another classic case of get a huge contract and get an even larger diet, earning him this dubious distinction for 2008. You Yankee fans better hope C.C. Sabathia’s appetite doesn’t continue to grow and he goes all Carlos Silva on you. (Come to think of it, if Sabathia got any bigger, he could take on Mothra).

Clubhouse Karma Award

Even winning a coveted RotoRob Award didn’t impress Manny.

Manny Ramirez, Boston Red Sox: You have to be a lock for this award when the whole team pulls a mutiny on you, although it was well deserved. Shoving road secretary Jack McCormick to the ground over a dispute involving free tickets, insulting team ownership through the media, failing to run out ground balls, and even rumours that he was faking a knee injury all led to the players deciding it just wasn’t worth it to be a part of the constant distraction that had come to be known as Manny being Manny.

Honourable Mention: J.P. Ricciardi (for his ongoing support of integrity when dealing with the media).

Best Seat in the House Award

Do we even need a funny cutline for this?

How could we ever deny Madge her rightful spot in our year-end celebration? Who really has the best seat in the house? Madonna, of course! In a summer dominated by the constant rumours surrounding Mad-Rod, she put in an appearance at a Yankee home game, adding more fuel to the fire. Of course, there were the customary denials by all concerned, but in just a bit of a coincidence, six months later they’re both divorced. With Madonna at his side, I’m sure Alex Rodriguez will be getting to first base on a regular basis in 2009!

Pain in the Ass Award

Kaz Matsui’s cracked crack received plenty of scrutiny in 2008.

Kaz Matsui, Houston Astros: Okay guys, when I have to head to Web-MD to try to sort this one out, it really is a pain in the butt. When Matsui hit the DL in April with the anal fissure injury it ensured him infamy and a spot in our 2008 rewards. By the way, for those of you who are anal about details, here are some nuggets on what an anal fissure is, courtesy of Wipe-epida (er, I mean Wikipedia): “An anal fissure is an unnatural crack or tear in the skin of the anal canal. Anal fissures may be noticed by bright red anal bleeding on the toilet paper, sometimes in the toilet. If acute they may cause severe periodic pain after defecation.” Kudos to Kaz for bringing the term ‘pain in the ass’ to a whole new level.

You Got Punk’d Award

Small wonder Kyle Kendrick sucked in 2008 after the team screwed with his head.

Kyle Kendrick, Philadelphia Philles: In what had to be one of the best orchestrated gags we’ve seen in a long time, in Spring Training, Brett Myers and half the Phillies organization tricked Kendrick into believing he was traded to a Japanese team. Hell, even the media was in on the gag, as a press conference was held to make the announcement. Of course, if the Phils had any idea how crappy Kendrick would be in 2008, perhaps they would have really gone through with the deal. It was a great practical joke without a doubt, but in a bit of a ‘what goes around comes around’ turn of events, it was Myers who was the one that actually got shipped out, although only to Triple-A to sort out his own crappy game. Looks good on ya, Brett! Let’s hope you didn’t take your anger out on your wife this time.

Take Me Out of the Ball Game Award

When the Jays brought in David Eckstein to make their lineup more dangerous, little did they know the little guy would be this dangerous.

David Eckstein, Toronto Blue Jays: For the paltry sum of $4.5 million, Super-Smurf David Eckstein managed his most solid hit of the season on his own second baseman, Aaron Hill, effectively removing him from the roster for the balance of the season. On the positive side, it was pretty much the only thing he did hit in 2008: One home run, 23 RBI, 27 runs scored and two steals from the man that was supposed to put some spark into the top of the Jays batting order? Finally dispatched to Arizona at the trade deadline, sadly, Eck was one of GM J.P. Ricciardi’s better acquisitions.

Snowblind in the North Award

This is the clumsy fool you take fantasy advice from? Tim coveted our Golden Athletic Supporter Award so much, that he actually took to wearing one. At least his wife makes kick ass cookies.

Tim McLeod, Team RotoRob: Seeing as how I’m doing my best job at dissing any and everyone I can, I’d be very remiss if I didn’t bring up a personal highlight from the 2008 season. To quote yours truly from my pre-season sleeper picks, “Someone is going to win some games in Washington this year and Jason Bergmann could very well be that man.” What in the Sam’s Hell was I thinking? Or rather, what in the hell was I smoking? On the other hand I did mention how much I liked that Cuban middle-infielder Alexei Ramirez, so all was not lost. Hey, .500 may not win you a pennant, but dammit, it will win you a batting title every freaking time!

The Detroit reserves helped cut the lead to 45-42 late in the second quarter, but the Blazers scored the last five points of the half to enter the locker room with an eight-point lead at 50-42.

The third quarter saw the teams trade basket for basket as Rip Hamilton knocked down a jumper at the end of the period to cut the lead to six at 70-64. The Blazers then went on to control the fourth quarter, outscoring the Pistons 26-21 as LaMarcus Aldridge went on a scoring run to help seal the deal in a 96-85 victory. He finished with 27 points, and is clearly over his early-season struggles.

Portland has won four straight and is now 11-3 since its 1-3 start to the season, pushing its overall record to 12-6, good for a share of first place in the Northwest Division. Better yet, by beating the Pistons in Detroit, Portland got a much needed road win against a good team. The only other strong club the Blazers have beaten on the road this season is Orlando. If the Blazers can’t beat any decent Western teams on the road, this is going to be a problem come playoff time.

Detroit has fallen to 10-6, putting it in second place in the Central Division.

Fantasy Factor

Rudy Fernandez, SG: The Spaniard rookie has shown he can hit the three. In fact, he has hit a three in every contest this year, making him just the third rookie in the last 12 NBA seasons to connect from downtown in 18 straight games. While Sunday wasn’t his best performance by a longshot as he went only 1-for-4 from the field, he is getting consistent playing time and shooting an effective 43 per cent from downtown. Fernandez’s 11.6 points per game and nearly 95 per cent free throw clip make him a valuable commodity so if he is not starting yet, it can’t hurt to put him with his 20 minutes per game and effective shooting percentage. In the upcoming week, keep your eye on his tender ankle, which he hurt Friday night, although he remained in the game. He’s winding up on the waiver wire in some leagues, but I think Fernandez still has plenty of value — just ride out his current slump if you can.

Nicholas Batum, SF: Another Portland rookie import, this time from France, Batum earned the start on Sunday and put up decent numbers, chipping in seven points, seven rebounds, four assists and a block. This 19-year-old (he’ll be 20 in a couple of weeks) has been earning more playing time of late, capped by a 15-point performance against Miami on Wednesday. If he is available in your deep league, it can’t hurt taking a look at him as the Blazers continue to experiment with their influx of young players. Batum has the talent, but might take sometime to develop. If he’s going to continue to get 30+ minutes like he did Sunday afternoon, however, that development may accelerate.

Rodney Stuckey, PG: The second-year guard out of Eastern Washington University, so highly touted coming into the season, has started to turn in more effective efforts recently, some might say even more than Iverson at this point. Sunday was no different, as he poured in 15 points and added six rebounds, five assists, a steal and a block in 26 minutes. Despite the trade for Iverson, Stuckey is the first man off the bench and is contributing positive numbers, although I’d like to see his accuracy improve. AI’s body typically takes a beating through the year so there is the potential of Stuckey getting enough minutes throughout the season and if that is the case you can feel confident in starting him on your squad as he is showing the ability to score and dish out assists. Many gave up on him after a sluggish start, but if you stuck with Stuckey, you’re being rewarded now.

Kwame Brown, C: Brown got the start on Sunday and showed why he has been one of the biggest busts of the last 10 years. In 20 minutes he scored just six points and only hauled down two rebounds, although he did record a block for the second straight game. As soon as Antonio McDyess rejoins the Pistons (which he’s already said he’ll do), don’t expect Brown to get much playing time as he has been ineffective in his role thus far with the Pistons, averaging 4.1 points and only 3.6 rebounds. Once upon a time, he did some decent work on the offensive glass for the Wizards, but of course he was playing twice as much as he is now. Do not start him! In fact, unless you’re in one of those super jumbo leagues (say, 25 teams or more) do not even own him.

What are the Pistons doing on Saturday nights, by the way? They’ve lost four straight Sunday games. On any other day, they’re 10-2, but on Sundays they are getting bitch-slapped by an average of 17 points. Are they all on the ‘Sheed schedule?

Portland’s starting five outscored Detroit’s starters 74-52, while the Pistons’ bench outgunned the Blazer bench by 11. Parallel universe? Wasn’t the bench the Achilles’ Heel for Detroit for the past several years?

Brandon Roy had a rather pedestrian line (for him), especially since he went nuts Friday with 25 points and a season-high 10 assists. Roy’s shooting is much better from beyond the arc this season (38 per cent) and that’s helped him up his scoring, but his owners have to be a bit upset that his steals, assists and rebounds have all slipped.

It looks like Greg Oden is finally getting acclimated to the NBA. He recorded his second double-double in the past three games, pulling down a career-best 13 rebounds while also swatting a trio of balls and stealing one. Better yet, he got to play 30 minutes or more for just the second time, as coach Nate McMillan slowly loosens the reins.

Hamilton wound up with 18 points. Just another day at the office, right? Maybe not — this was his best point total in two weeks, if you can believe that. Rip’s shot just isn’t falling this season, but if you’re seeking a sign that he’s coming out of it, he’s hit exactly half of his shots over the last three games. Buy-low candidate?

Iverson is in a serious funk in Motown. He drained a mere 2-of-9 shots for nine points — the second time in his last four games he failed to reach double digits. In fact, Iverson hasn’t topped 17 points since November 19. It’s pretty obvious he won’t be delivering late-first/early-second round value as long as he’s a Piston.

Could it be time to take another look at Amir Johnson, also a fantasy darling heading into the season? In 23 minutes off the bench Sunday, he sunk 4-of-5 for eight points and added eight boards. If he can consistently get around 25 minutes, he’s worth owning for those blocks and boards.

Arron Afflalo has been seeing more action off the bench recently, and he had enjoyed back-to-back strong games until throwing up a stinker Sunday (0-for-2, two points in 20 minutes). Keep him on your radar, and if his PT continues to rise, Afflalo could be a sleeper, but for now, leave him where he is — on your waiver wire.

Steve Blake wasn’t at his best Sunday, managing just one three pointer and 10 points, but he did drop seven dimes and pull down a couple of boards in a hefty 36 minutes. Clearly, the job remains his, despite occasional flashes of brilliance from Sergio Rodriguez. Although he only made one trip to the charity stripe Sunday, Blake is getting to the line a bit more this year and has been absolutely lights out (96 per cent). In fact, the dude hasn’t missed a FT in three weeks. Still, he’s a marginal fantasy player, not picking up enough assists or scoring enough to be truly useful, but maintaining some value because of his 3-point shooting.

Anyone notice that Tayshaun Prince was stapled to the bench for much of the game? He played a mere 22 minutes — the first time all season that he hadn’t gotten at least 30 minutes, and Detroit coach Michael Curry wasn’t shy about the reason why: “He just wasn’t playing well.” Overall, however, Prince has been strong, averaging career highs with 15.1 PPG and 6.5 RPG.

For a team that nearly made the playoffs last season, you would think that one or two big changes would be made in order to get over the hump in the uber competitive Western Conference. But the Blazers really did not need to make a huge splash via free agency or trade. Why, you might ask, did Paul Allen’s club essentially stand pat? That would be the return of a healthy Greg Oden for what will be his rookie campaign after missing all of last season with arthroscopic knee surgery and the trade on draft day to acquire the number 11 overall pick (Jerryd Bayless) and Ike Diogu from the Indiana Pacers for the draft rights to Brandon Rush, plus Jarrett Jack and Josh McRoberts.

The Blazers, who finished 10th in the West last year, are being led by their defensive-minded coach, Nate McMillan, who helped the team limit their opponents to only 96.3 points per contest last year, sixth best in the West. And with the highly anticipated debut of Oden in the middle, expectations are running higher than ever for the team once referred to as the Jail Blazers and now maybe referred to as the Baby Blazers. But you won’t catch many teams being able to steal candy from these babies.

Projected Starting Lineup

PG: Steve Blake
SG: Brandon Roy
SF: Travis Outlaw
PF: LaMarcus Aldridge
C: Greg Oden

Key Bench Players: Joel Pryzbilla, Rudy Fernandez, Jerryd Bayless, Channing Frye

Position Battles

While Blake has proved to his naysayers that he can compete at the NBA level despite his slender 172 pounds, he will be pressed hard and early by the rookie sensation Bayless. The Blazers did not make the draft day trade for Bayless to let him rot on the bench so expect him to get quality minutes early on with a jump to the starting lineup inevitable at some point in the season.

Another semi battle to look out for might be Outlaw and Webster. Webster has yet to play in the pre-season and is expected to miss eight-to-10 weeks due to surgery on a stress fracture in his left foot. Outlaw, who has shown flashes of brilliance, will start in Webster’s absence and it might be tough for Webster to regain the starting SF position.

Stud: If Roy can stay healthy throughout the course of a long 82-game season, the Blazers will be right in the playoff hunt. He has shown that he was the steal of the draft two seasons ago and his versatility to do a little bit of everything will help immensely. Not only did he score 19.1 points per game last year, but he dished out 5.8 assists and pulled down 4.7 boards per game, an impressive total for a guard. With this being Oden’s first true season, Portland will need Roy to help show the big boy the ropes and feed him down low.

Dud: Joel Przybilla was fantastic in the second half last year, averaging over 11 boards per game, but he has too many holes in his game for fantasy purposes and with Oden around to steal his thunder, there’s not much point in owning this big man.

Sleeper: Guard Rudy Fernandez could be a key factor as a backup for the Blazers. At 6’5”, he showed the ability to hit the jumper and take it to the hole in Spain where he had a great deal of success. Injuries in preseason have slowed him down, but keep your eyes on him as the year progresses.

Rookies to watch: Bayless and Fernandez could come through big time in the backcourt this season. And don’t forget about that Oden dude; the Blazers could very well have be best rookie threesome in the league.

It pains me to even write about The Artist Formerly Known As the Seattle Supersonics, so don’t be alarmed if I only refer to the Thunder from here on out as TAFKA Sonics. That being said, this team might have more young talent than anyone in the league, corralling in five young players via the 2008 draft led by UCLA guard Russell Westbrook. Westbrook has a chance to take over the point after TAFKA Sonics traded former starting point guard Luke Ridnour to Milwaukee in a three-team deal which saw Joe Smith and former Oklahoma State Cowboy Desmond Mason come to the team.

Another move after the draft saw TAFKA Sonics acquire the 38th overall pick in the draft, Kyle Weaver from the Charlotte Bobcats. Weaver was a versatile swingman at Washington State, helping lead his Cougars to two straight NCAA appearances following a 13-year drought.

Needless to say, this team will once again not be very good this year. It has an immense amount of young talent and another plethora of draft picks for the 2009 draft, but TAFKA Sonics still will struggle mightily despite a much needed year of experience for 2007 first round lottery picks Kevin Durant and Jeff Green.

Projected Starting Lineup

PG: Earl Watson
SG: Kevin Durant
SF: Jeff Green
PF: Chris Wilcox
C: Nick Collison

Key Bench Players: Damien Wilkins, Westbrook, Mason, Smith, Johan Petro.

Position Battles

Just about every position on TAFKA Sonics will be up for grabs minus the shooting guard spot where Durant is the franchise player and has that locked down. Watson has shown flashes of being a capable point guard, but is also very streaky from the outside, shooting 37 per cent from downtown last season. First rounder Westbrook didn’t actually play point guard in college as his teammate at UCLA, Darren Collison, handled those duties, but regardless he should fight strongly for the spot throughout the season.

Mason and Green are two nearly identical players which makes one think the trade for Mason was only to satisfy the hometown fans as he went to school in Oklahoma.

Stud: There is a stud on TAFKA Sonics? Okay, how about Durant? After the All Star break, his numbers improved significantly as his shooting percentage went up (47.6 per cent) and he stopped hoisting up three pointers like a fat kid in a YMCA game. He is also a terrific free throw shooter at 87.3 per cent which could in turn mean his field goal percentage will only keep increasing.

Dud: Clay Bennett. Okay, I’m just kidding (but not really). I think you have to put all 18 TAFKA Sonics centres drafted over the last five years here. You have Petro, Robert Swift, Mouhamed Sene, and the newly drafted 18-year-old Serge Ibaka. The best part is GM Sam Presti actually re-signed Swift in the offseason! The three returning centres in Sene, Swift, and Petro have shown little to nothing in their tenures, and don’t expect any difference this season.

Sleeper: Weaver could be a fantasy factor for TAFKA Sonics with his defensive prowess. He can handle the ball well, and is a threat to steal two-to-three balls a game. Sure this is a biased pick since I am from the Northwest and follow the Cougars like a 21-year-old frat boy who follows a MILF, but who else am I supposed to say here? TAFKA Sonics are composed of a bunch of 20-something kids that are excited to be making a fat paycheque while playing for a team known as the “Thunder.”

Rookies to watch: Westbrook could claim the starting point guard position by the beginning of December seeing how bad TAFKA Sonics will be.

The Mets started things off early with a one out single in the second by Endy Chavez. Brian Schneider then singled followed by a Perez sacrifice and a Jose Reyes walk to load the bases. Luis Castillo then legged out an infield single to put the boys from Queens up early, 1-0.

The third inning saw the recently rejuvenated Carlos Delgado hit a solo home run to push the score to 2-0, which would prove to be enough support for Perez.

Perez sailed through the first six innings, not running into any trouble until the seventh inning when Yankee reserve Wilson Betemit hit a solo home run, providing the only run the Yankees would score on this day. Despite a Reyes error that followed, Perez was able to finish out the frame to cap a very strong outing.

For having such a sparkling ERA on the season (1.91), Met closer Billy Wagner has an unusual amount of blown saves with five. The usually reliable Wagner has struggled at times this season and the ninth inning Sunday was no exception as he allowed a leadoff single to Derek Jeter followed by a wild pitch that allowed the Yankee captain to advance to second. Wagner was able to compose himself and retire Alex Rodriguez, Jorge Posada and Betemit in order to finish off his 18th save of the season as he closes in on an 11th 20-save season.

Fantasy Factor

Perez has had an up and down season, but Sunday was definitely an up (as it usually is vs. the Yanks, whom he is now 5-1 in his career against). With the win, he pushed his record to 6-5 on the season and with eight strikeouts he catapulted his season total to 76 through 90 1/3 IP. It was his first win since June 13 at Texas and he finished the month off with a 2-2 and an ERA over five and a quarter. After such a strong comeback season in 2007, right now, Perez just isn’t showing signs of consistency, so it is a big risk to put him in your lineup unless you are in dire need of strikeouts which he will indeed get you (although, again, not at the same pace he did last year). In many leagues, in fact, Perez has found himself on the waiver wire.

Castillo has had a worse year than Hillary Clinton as he currently sits at only .260 on the season. But if Sunday was any indication, he might be heating up as he went 3-for-5 with a RBI. While Castillo sports a career average of .293, his current BA of 33 points below that hurts especially, given his constant lack of power production with only three home runs and 26 RBI (although, believe it or not, that puts Castillo on pace for career highs in both departments). On the plus side, with 13 steals on the season, he’s on pace for his finest running year since he was a Marlin. Keep one eye on him in case Sunday’s three hit-performance and Friday’s career-high five-run game are any indication of things to come the second half of the season, but keep him far far away from your lineup right now.

Ryan Church made his return from the DL Sunday with two base hits to push his batting average over the .300 barrier. He has ten home runs and 35 RBI on the season and has been one of the many fantasy surprises of 2008. Church showed on Sunday that rust will not be a factor after a brief stint on the DL. He is a nice all around player so if a spot is open, go ahead and put him in your lineup. There’s a slim chance he is still available on your wire, but that will likely vanish very shortly.

Darrell Rasner had another decent but not spectacular start for the Yankees on Sunday going five innings while allowing only two runs, as his record slid to 4-6 on the season, while his ERA shrunk slightly to 4.42 ERA. Rasner is relatively young – only 27 – but hasn’t shown many flashes of brilliance other than a seven inning shut out performance against Baltimore on May 21. In ten starts, Rasner has factored into the decision every time while lasting at least five innings in each contest except one. Rasner might have better long-term value than short term as he continues to work throughout the summer to improve his stuff. In keeper leagues, it might be worth trying to acquire him but in a non-keeper league his value is not much this season. I’d recommend either dumping him or benching him until he shows more consistency.

Melky Cabrera had another less than stellar outing going 0-for-3 dropping his average to .246 midway through the 2008 campaign. His power numbers aren’t vastly different than last year’s output of eight home runs and 73 RBI, but his batting average sits 27 points below last season’s mark. Cabrera is also only getting on base at a .312 clip, which definitely hurts for those of you in leagues which take OBP into account. Keep him as far away from your lineup as possible right now and consider dumping him should a more attractive outfield option present itself.

Jason Giambi came in as a pinch hitter on Sunday and flew out, but overall he has a solid comeback season. The Giambino currently has the most home runs on the Yankees with 17 and is getting on base at a .396 clip, so you know he’s receiving plenty of free passes. While his .262 batting average is not spectacular, it is much better than the paltry .236 Giambi hit last season. If your league takes OBP into account, and you need some power production, start Giambi as his fantasy value has reemerged throughout the course of this season. Notwithstanding a recent slump, he’s enjoyed a very fine June as he continues to put an abysmal April in the rear view mirror.

The Yanks finally cooled off David Wright, although despite an 0-for-3, he did manage to drive in his 64th run in 80 games with a sac fly. Wright has been backsliding since the season began, but his play over the past week (.476, three homers, eight RBI) suggests that July could be the start of a huge second half. Note that he’s been a significantly stronger second-half player in the last three years, so if his owner is a bit frustrated with Wright’s first half, now is a perfect time for you to make an offer.

Yankees reliever David Robertson made his big league debut, giving up four hits, a wild pitch and a run in two innings. He whiffed one and walked none. Just 23, Robertson has fanned 169 batters in 125 career minor league innings for a K/9 of 12.17. A closer at Alabama in college, Robertson has future closer written all over him, so keeper league owners pay attention.

Do you think Reyes is a factor in the Mets’ fortunes at all? He has scored at least one run in each of the team’s last 13 wins. He’s enjoying a strong year, but has just one extra-base hit in the past week. Still, he has a career high in OBP and is on pace to match his career high in runs, and that’s what you need from your lead-off man.

Joe Saunders continued his surprising breakthrough season for the Angels by tossing 7 1/3 innings, scattering six hits while striking out three for his tenth win. Jorge Campillo was almost as impressive in his seventh start of the season for the Braves, hurling a complete game seven-hitter, fanning seven and walking none.

The Braves threatened in the first inning after a Yunel Escobar lead-off single was followed by a Kelly Johnson single, putting runners on first and second with no outs. But early season NL MVP favourite Chipper Jones struck out in the next at bat followed by a Mark Teixeira double play grounder that ended the threat. Unfortunately, this was likely the best chance Atlanta had all day to get on the board.

The teams continued to toss goose eggs at one another be scoreless until the fifth inning when the Halos tallied the only two runs of the game. Vladimir Guerrero (who’s heating up, having hit safely in a season-best seven straight games) led off with a double, but after a Torii Hunter strike out, Casey Kotchman , one of the season’s most pleasant surprises, stepped up to the plate and whacked his seventh home run of the season (but first since late-April), putting the Angels up 2-0 and starting and ending the scoring on the day with one swing of the bat.

The Braves threatened one more time in the sixth with another single by Escobar as well as a single by Teixeira. A Saunders wild pitch by Saunders advanced the runners to second and third with two outs, but Jeff Francoeur harmlessly flied out to end the inning, effectively ending the threat for the Compton South Dakota Angels of California.

Francisco Rodriguez relieved Saunders in the ninth and mowed down the side for his major league leading 28th save, pushing the Angels record to 42-28, while the Braves slid to 34-36, dropping into a tie with the Mets for third place in the NL East.

Fantasy Factor

Escobar, a Cuban defector, has quickly become a major fantasy factor among other emerging young shortstops around the majors. He is making the Braves’ front office look smart after dealing away Edgar Renteria this past offseason. Escobar has already topped his rookie totals with six dingers and 30 RBI, while batting a very solid .303. In keeper leagues, it’s worth your while to try to acquire him him in the long run as he is only 25 years old (well that’s his listed age, anyways; maybe he’s 38 a la Miguel Tejada) and is producing in only his second year in the majors. While finding him on waivers in any league would be next to impossible, make sure this guy is in your starting lineup constantly as he is getting on base at an impressive .379 clip and will only continue to improve with each game.

Francoeur has been struggling mightily this season. For the second straight year, he looks headed for under 20 home runs, as he has only bashed eight this season, and with a .253 BA, the progress he made in his hitting last season has been lose. After a horrid May, he’s been slightly better in June, but at .264 with only two round trippers, I’d hardly term it a recovery. With his OPS sitting at only 722, it might be time to sideline the young the outfielder until he starts performing at the level you drafted for. This is especially an issue if your fantasy league factors in OBP, where his currently sits at a putrid .303. July is historically Francoeur’s best month, so try to be patient.

Johnson, the Braves’ keystone corner man, has been putting up respectable numbers that could definitely help out your fantasy team. While he only went 1-for-4 on Sunday, and is in a mini slump the past few days, he’s batting .283 for the year, with a respectable seven home runs, putting him on pace for a new career high in dingers. Johnson will steal you a handful of bases, accumulating six so far on the season, also well on pace for a new career best in that department. He is just 26, so if you are in a keeper league it’s definitely worth your while to hold on to him as the middle infield tandem of Escobar and Johnson has plenty of room for growth.

Saunders is having a monster season, moving into a tie for the league lead in wins on Sunday. A 10-3 record with an ERA of just 3.06 will likely land him a spot on the All-Star roster as well as a potential big contract down the road. He won’t strike out many (only 46 on the season, and a declining K/9 for the second straight year), but thanks to the Ws and his control (leading to a nice WHIP), Saunders has been a major fantasy find this year, so kudos to those of you who had the foresight to jump on his early in the season. Prior to this season, Saunders, who turns 27 today (Happy Birthday Joe!) had a career high of just eight wins, set in 2007. Well, not only has he already surpassed that this season, but he’s headed for a ridiculous 23 wins. If you have the pieces, take a look at trading for this stud as he might be reaching the peak of his pitching in the next couple of years. Given his weak K totals, Saunders is a true stud in 4 x 4 leagues.

If you didn’t already know that K-Rod is a stud, then you’ve been in hibernation for the greater part of this decade. This season, even though his K rate is uncharacteristically low, he is really dominating, leading the majors with 28 saves while chalking up a miniscule ERA of 2.03. I’m not even going to give you advice about him fantasy wise because if you need it, you shouldn’t be playing fantasy baseball. Unless it’s involving a trade. Then, I’ll help you.

Gary Matthews, Jr. is showing that his career season two seasons ago might have indeed been a little PED-induced (at least if just looking at his BA). In the Angels’ logjam of an outfield, he is batting only .243 which is by far the worst among the underperforming star outfielders. Matthews’ seven home runs and 31 RBI put him just a bit off the pace of his career year with the Rangers in which he belted 19 home runs and knocked in 79 while batting .313, the season that earned him a huge contract from the Angels. Fortunately, Matthews is headed in the right direction, batting .348 in June with a couple of stolen bases already. Given how hot he’s been, he’s worth another look on the waiver wire and if you already own him, Matthews should be a regular in your lineup as he could give you a power boost as well as offer some help in the always-hard-to-find stolen base category.

It’s conceivable (but highly unlikely) that depending how big your league is, Kotchman could be out there, as he’s cooled off considerably this month. Take a peek; you don’t want to miss an opportunity if some bonehead dumped him.

Scot Shields tossed his ninth straight scoreless outing, trimming his ERA to a sparkling 2.81 through 25 2/3 IP. After enduring a rough May, Shields is rolling, making him a superb target in AL-only leagues, especially those tracking holds.

Atlanta youngster Brandon Jones smacked a single to give him a 6-for-11 series against the Halos. Time to invest in this kid in NL-only leagues, and definitely in any keeper league.

Erick Aybar is making progress in his rehab, so it won’t be long until Maicer Izturis’ fantasy use could wane. Stay on top of this situation as Aybar was enjoying somewhat of a breakout before busting a digit last month. Izturis, by the way, has been heating up big time, but his 13-game hitting streak came to an end Sunday.

Since coming back from his quad injury, Chipper is just 2-for-15, dropping him to a mere .402. What a stiff, eh?

With the Dodgers already training 1-0 in the bottom of the first, LA lead-off man Juan Pierre singled. Pierre promptly stole second, and after Andre Ethier popped out, Pierre made it to third on a Geovany Soto throwing error. The man with the porn ’stache, Jeff Kent, then followed up with an RBI groundout, scoring Pierre and pushing the Dodgers back to a 1-1 tie after the Cubbies tallied in the top of the first thanks to a Mark DeRosa round tripper.

From there on, the Dodgers bats were quieter than a silent film as they managed a measley three hits over the final eight innings, not being able to touch Marquis or relievers Carlos Marmol and Kerry Wood.

The Cubs’ bats came alive again in the fifth when DeRosa knocked in his second run of the game, scoring Alfonso Soriano. That was followed by an RBI double from third basemen Aramis Ramirez. This was more than enough run support for Marquis as he pitched one of his best games of the young season and the Cubs continued their hot streak and pursuit of their first title since 765 B.C. (or around there).

Fantasy Factor

Soriano went a modest 1-for-5 in Sunday’s contest, dropping his batting average to a still decent .279. Soriano is never going to win a batting title, but from a fantasy standpoint, he’s all about his high homer numbers and ability to steal bases. On the season, he sits at a robust 15 dingers and a solid 40 RBI, tops for all lead-off hitters in baseball. If you can afford to take a hit on that .320 OBP (only a factor in OBP leagues), then he remains fantasy gold as his power and speed will pay nice dividends.

For the past few seasons, DeRosa has been a great super-sub type to own, but this year he’s enjoying a serious breakout. He went 3-for-5 on Sunday with two RBI, pushing his average over the .300 barrier at .303. With eight home runs and 34 RBI on the season, he is near the top of heap for second basemen in production. Combine that with his .391 on-base percentage and this guy is easily having a career year. If he continues at this pace, DeRosa could finish the season with around 20 home runs and 90 RBI, more than solid numbers for a second baseman.

Marquis had a solid start, only allowing one unearned run for his 89-pitch effort, while issuing just one walk — a nice recovery after he experienced a serious breakdown in his control the last time out. Marquis pushed his record to 4-3 on the season, lowering his ERA to 4.54. Dating back to May 18 in a game against Pittsburgh, Marquis hasn’t allowed more then three earned runs in a contest, going at least five innings in each of those five starts. While Marquis will never be your ace, if you are thin in the starting pitching department it can’t hurt to take a look in NL-only leagues since he is on a strong Cubs team and should continue to rack up more Ws as long as the Cubs stay hot.

While Dodger starter Brad Penny managed to toss his second straight quality outing Sunday, he still took the loss falling to 5-8 on the season with a Roseanne-like ERA of 5.38. Shockingly, in just 14 starts, Penny has double the losses he suffered in 33 starts in all of 2007. He allowed only three runs in six innings of work, but was unable to receive any run support and that lead to his ultimate downfall. After a 5-2 start, Penny has lost his last six decisions, and something just isn’t gelling right now (perhaps that 8.82 May tipped you off?). Is he hurt? I wouldn’t be surprised if he ends up on the DL sooner rather than Later. Despite being a solid proven starter, you can’t rely on him on your staff right now. I like the fact that he’s turning it around so far in June, but it sure would be nice to see some Ws.

You take what you can get with Pierre. He will get you a handful of hits and a decent average, but will produce little to no power numbers (in fact, he’s headed for the worst full-season slugging mark of his career this year). He went 2-for-4 on Sunday with his usually Speedy Gonzalez stolen base (that’s 23 on the season now). His .281 batting average won’t hurt your team, but his zero home runs and weak 18 RBI won’t exactly help. If you need stolen bases and a slight average boost, Pierre’s your man.

At the age of 40, has Kent finally passed his twilight? He went 0-for-4 on Sunday, dropping his average to a Seattle Mariner-like .251 on the season, not good for a number three hitter (where he’s hit in the past few games), let alone a hitter in the nine hole. For the season, he does have eight home runs and 29 RBI, better power numbers than we’ve seen from him the past couple of years, but he’s been very inconsistent. At this stage of career, he is not reliable and you would be better suited starting someone else at second base if you have that luxury.

But that may have changed last week. On Tuesday, the Reds called up the number one prospect in baseball, Jay Bruce, and it paid huge dividends all week as the team capped off a 5-1 week on Sunday by beating the Atlanta Braves.

Rookie Johnny Cueto hurled a gem, allowing only two runs in seven innings on 100 pitches.

The Reds started things off early, tagging Atlanta ace Tim Hudson for three runs in the first four innings. Hudson was able to last another three-plus innings, only allowing one more run, but an error by Yunel Escobar in the seventh led to two unearned runs off Blaine Boyer, pushing the lead to 6-2 after the Braves had cut the lead to 3-2 in the previous inning behind back-to-back homers by Mark Teixeira and Brian McCann.

Reds’ reliever Jared Burton came in for Cueto in the eighth and scattered two hits in two innings to close the game for Cincy, finishing a noisy week which saw rookie sensation Bruce bat .591 in his first six big league games (all of which he started in right field).

The Reds record currently sits at 28-29 and they are 7.5 games back of the Cardinals, but with an impressive 7-3 run in their last ten, they’re making some noise. Bruce’s promotion has clearly provided a spark, so look for things to potentially heat up in Reds’ land.

Fantasy Factor

How can I not talk about Bruce? Just looking at his first six boxscores makes me blush. After a half dozen games in the majors, he has a six-game hitting streak and a .591 batting average with two home runs, six runs batted in, and an impressive six walks, showing he has a keen eye at the plate — rare footage for a youngster. While most were surprised, frustrated, even angry when he wasn’t named to the Opening Day roster, fear not because Bruce time is here and if his first week is any indication of what is to come then we have something special on our hands. If he is not claimed in your fantasy league yet, don’t be foolish; pick him up and start him now.

Cueto started the year off masterfully and nearly every owner was rushing to get him after he allowed only three runs in 13 1/3 innings. He then hit a slump, common to many rookies, as his ERA ballooned to way over the five barrier. But Cueto has shown he has good stuff still as he has allowed just four earned runs over his last two starts, resulting in two victories. He might be too inconsistent this season to be a huge fantasy factor, but look to this young hurler in the future to be a successful strikeout pitcher as he definitely has good stuff.

A few weeks ago, the rumors ran rampant that Griffey might be traded back to his first team, the Seattle Mariners. But now that the Reds are making a play towards respectability and the Mariners sit with nearly the worst record in baseball, this is more than likely not going to happen and Griffey will stick with this surging Reds’ team. His batting average is lower than one would like at a mere .255, but he has shown signs of heating up as he hit his 599th career home run on Saturday and went 3-for-9 over the weekend.

He also still sports a respectable .343 OBP, so at least he’s getting on base at a decent clip. I wouldn’t recommend him as a top outfielder but as a fourth or fifth outfielder on your team, he should be just fine.

Jerry Hairston Jr., the lesser known Jr. on the Reds, is the third shortstop the team has employed this season and, like the ones before him, is producing nicely. In 96 at bats, he is batting .344 with one home run and 11 RBI. Factor that in with a .390 OBP and it looks like you might have yourself a decent leadoff hitter. Don’t expect Hairston to bat at this clip all year as his career batting average sits at only .256. But he might be a viable short-term replacement option, especially if you were starting Jeff Keppinger at short.

Is Chipper Jones’ run for .400 finally winding down? Jones went 0-for-4 on Sunday, dropping his batting average to a pathetic .405, meaning he just barely finished May with his average over .400. That is just awful, I would cut him right away. Okay, kidding aside, Jones is completely locked in despite his 0-fer on Sunday. He probably won’t bat over .400 for the season, but it definitely looks like he is having a career year at the ripe age of 36.

With 12 home runs and 35 RBI, he is the best run producer for the Braves right now. He is also sporting a Barry Bonds-esque .489 OBP, meaning he is almost getting on base one out of every two at bats for you non-math majors. The point here is keep him in your lineup. He is a machine this year.

In his fourth year in the league, McCann is poised to take over as the best offensive catcher in baseball, and many scouts say he even remind them of Mike Piazza in his heyday. McCann went 1-for-4 on Sunday with a homer, his tenth jack of the season while also sporting a beefy 33 runs batted in. That puts him perfectly on pace for his first 30-homer, 100-RBI campaign. If you can find a way to get him on your team, do it, because he is a bona fide stud.

Hudson hit a rut on Sunday, surrendering four runs — three earned — in six innings as his record dropped to 7-4 on the season. Despite that, his ERA sits at a very nice 3.01 for the season and he is continually one of the leaders of a solid Braves’ staff. Unfortunately, he left the game with a tweak of his left hamstring on Sunday, so keep your eyes open on news alerts to monitor his progress and find out whether he can make his next start. If he can start, make sure he is in your lineup as he has had a great year.

Wakefield only lasted 2 2/3 innings, giving up seven runs — six earned — raising his ERA on the season to 4.25. The Red Sox bats heated up briefly with one run in the third and three in the fourth, but the bullpen couldn’t hold the Twins in check, giving up runs in the fourth and the seventh innings. The Sox scored twice more in the seventh on Kevin Youkilis’ two run double, as the Youk-dog continued his torrid May similar to what he did last season. He’s batting .359 so far this month, with five doubles, six homers, ten runs, 14 RBI and six walks. It’ll do. Of course, the Greek God of Walks hit over .400 with six dingers last May, so he’s clearly a May man.

The BoSox entered the top of the ninth down three runs against the usually unhittable Joe Nathan and made some noise. They quickly collected three hits and scored two runs, but stranded the tying runner on base as Nathan was able to barely escape out of the inning for his 12th save of the season.

The win pushed the surprising Twins to 19-17 on the season, one game ahead of Cleveland for first in the AL Central, while the Sox fell to 24-16 with their lead over the Tampa Bay Rays shrinking to only 1.5 games. That’s right, the Rays. Seriously. I’m not joking. And it’s May.

Fantasy Factors

Youkilis has been putting on a rare display of power and production with an OPS of 1384 for the month and it looks like he might be on his way to becoming a top five fantasy first baseman. He went 2-for-5 on Sunday to raise his overall average to .319 on the season. Continue to ride Youkilis’ hot bat, but don’t be surprised if his power numbers start to level out as he is not typically known for the long ball (last season, he hit a career-best 16). May is clearly his month, so either start him on your team or sell him while his stock is high.

The real David Ortiz is finally starting to show up. After a dismal April in which he batted under the Mendoza Line at .198, Big Papi currently sits at .241 on the year, thanks to a .368 mark for the month of May. And to think Sox fans were worried! Ortiz currently has seven homers and 28 ribbies, and with his batting average still being lower than usual, you might be able to steal him from other owners. Big Papi just had a bad month, but trust me when I say…actually, when I guarantee…he will finish with 30+ home runs and 100+ RBI. Don’t say I didn’t tell you so when September comes around.

Wakefield finally put up a serious stinker. Prior to Sunday’s game, his worst outing was an eight inning performance in which he gave up five runs. Normally, he does very well in the Metrodome, heading in with a career mark of 7-3 with a 3.95 ERA. Owners shouldn’t be worried though, because from time to time the knucklers are going to get rocked. Half the time, they don’t even know where their pitch is going to end up. I wouldn’t start Wakefield unless you have a big time pitcher on the DL, in which case he is a nice fill in. Otherwise, his 27 Ks to 23 BB is not enough to make up for the fact that he’s a good source of Ws, likely headed for 15 wins on the season.

Joe Mauer is being outhomered by Ichiro Suzuki right now, 2-0. Now, that’s no knock on Ichiro as we all know he has some power, but the point is Mauer is batting in the three hole for the Twins and while he is hitting a superb .330, one would think he would have at least one dinger by now. He is sporting an excellent .409 OBP with a modest 15 RBI, and he went 1-for-4 again on Sunday, continuing a solid May. Mauer is one of the best catchers in the game, so obviously start him and hope he begins to mash a few home runs and produce some more RBI.

Craig Monroe went 2-for-4 with a grand slam in Sunday’s contest, raising his average to .284 on the year. Despite having a nice game, do not count on Monroe as he is a streaky hitter who is currently splitting time at DH for the Twins.

Justin Morneau’s average isn’t quite where we want it to be yet (.284), but he took a step in the right direction on Sunday, going 3-for-3 with a walk. Canada’s finest has a respectable six home runs on the season to go along with his 27 RBI, but has yet to go yard and has only produced five RBI so far this month . He is going to give you plenty of power, but unless he gets that batting average and OBP up a little bit, it might be worth looking at another option for first base.

Manny Ramirez, nursing a sore hammy, got the day off, but the fact that he pinch-hit in the ninth suggests he’ll be okay. Hopefully some down time with help ManRam redisover his early-season stroke. A 1-for-15 skid has him under .300 for the first time since April 15. Contract year, baby!

Mike Lamb enjoyed a nice weekend, going 5-for-9, but please remind me why the Twins signed this guy again? A 556 OPS? Uh, right. And the Twins actually believed this dude could be an everyday player.

With Manny sitting, Jacoby Ellsbury shifted over and handled left field. He took an 0-for-4, capping an ugly 1-for-12 weekend. The rook is playing, but not hitting particularly well so far this season. Coco Crisp, meanwhile, was in centrefield for the second straight day, and he went yard for the second straight game. He also tripled, stole a base and drove in three runs on Sunday. It’s about time to consider Crisp as a fantasy option, in AL-only leagues at the very least. He’s earned more PT, and if Ellsbury keeps flailing, Crisp will get it.

Matt Tolbert, an early season revelation, continues to struggle. He’s been playing second with Brendan Harris nursing a sore right hamstring, so Adam Everett has been manning short. But Everett hasn’t exactly taken his chance and run with it. He was 1-for-4 Sunday to get back to .200 on the year. Woo hoo! I’d say Tolbert needs not worry, about Everett at least.

Alex Cora returned from a DL stint because of his elbow. He’s been out almost a month, and got the start at short, lashing three hits, including a double. With Julio Lugo still dealing with the after effects of his concussion, and Jed Lowrie sent back to the minors, Cora could see some action this week.

Rookie Nick Blackburn earned the win for the Twins. He wasn’t overly sharp, giving up nine hits and four runs in six innings, but he walked just one and struck out five — his most in over a month. Blackburn is now over .500, but his ERA is approaching 4.00. He’s a decent option in deep AL-only leagues, but because of his lack of Ks, he’s best used in 4×4 leagues.

Mike Timlin appeared in his 1,032nd career game, moving him past Lee Smith and Jose Mesa into eighth place all-time. Unfortunately, after a solid 2007 campaign, the 42-year-old righty looks to be on his last legs, having giving up 16 hits and ten runs in nine innings this year. Start watching for a passing ice floe to toss the oldtimer onto.

Silva, who had previously shined since signing a four-year contract with the Mariners in the offseason, was clobbered by the Yankees as it appeared Hank Steinbrenner might have injected his whole squad with HGH prior to the third inning. The Pintripers posted six runs in the third and followed that up with two more in the fourth, knocking Silva out in his poorest performance since becoming a Mariner.

After the two-run first inning, the Mariners bats went cold again. Like their previous four contests, they could not get anything started as they managed just five hits over the final eight innings and were stifled by Darrell Rasner, making his first start this season.

In another rare showing, the Mariner bullpen actually held steady, not allowing another run the rest of the contest. But the eight runs tacked on Silva’s stat sheet were more than enough as the Yankees finished off their Seattle sweep.

Fantasy Factor

• Robinson Cano of the Yankees has been mired in a god awful slump to start the season, entering Sunday’s contest batting at a .151 clip. While he only went 1-for-4, he did belt a home run, something that could potentially reestablish some confidence he lost in April. It might be too early to reinsert him into your starting lineup, but keep a close eye on Yankee box scores in case Cano starts to wake up and hit at his usual .300 clip. This dude is way too good for this to continue much longer.
• Third basemen Adrian Beltre has enjoyed a solid start to the season and continued this on Sunday as he belted a two-run homer to account for the Mariner offense. He finished 2-for-4 on the day, and is up to .283 on the season with six home runs. Right now he is one of the few Mariners who is producing consistently. Leave him in your lineups.
• Derek Jeter had a monster afternoon, going 4-for-5 to raise his batting average above the .300 mark (.313). He could be labeled as Mr. Consistent in regards to fantasy baseball, and there’s no reason to not start him right now. It looks as if his injury is all healed up and he is ready to continue to produce good numbers in a powerful Yankee lineup.
• Signing his new three-year contract recently apparently did not cause backstop Kenji Johjima to remember how to hit the ball. He is batting a measly .184, going only 3-for-23 over his last nine games. He has been consistent in his three years in Seattle, but will soon turn 32 years old, which is getting a bit long in the tooth for catchers known for their offense. Maybe the Mariners gave him a contract extension too soon? We will see, but for now keep him on your bench as there are plenty of catchers who will at least bat over .200 for you!
• If you have not done so yet, pick up Rasner. Since Phil Hughes is out until at least July with a broken rib, and Ian Kennedy has not thrown the ball well (earning himself a demotion back to the minors), Rasner is almost guaranteed to stay in the rotation and he pitched great Sunday. Granted, the Mariner offense has been struggling mightily, but Rasner only allowed two runs in six innings on 76 pitches. If you need pitching help, he’s worth taking a look at.
• Ryan Rowland-Smith, who briefly had value when he was getting save chances with J.J. Putz out, has been horribly inconsistent, but he tossed two shutout frames Sunday. This Aussie showed promise as a rookie last year, but his command has been awful so far in 2008, making him a very shaky bet even in deep AL-only leagues.
• Kyle Farnsworth has pitched well this year — especially lately — so it’s surprising more owners aren’t giving him a longer look, particularly in leagues that track holds. After a down year in 2007, Farnsworth has improved his control, and is back to striking out over a batter per inning. Do note, however, that he will be called on the carpet Tuesday to hear his appeal of a three-game suspension he earned after throwing behind the head of Manny Ramirez last month. If Farnsworth’s suspension holds up, he won’t be seeing much action this week.
• Richie Sexson, who looked like he was getting his shit together recently before taking an 0-for-7 in the first two games of this series, was given a day off. Jose Vidro manned first in his place. Sexson has been healthy so far this season, and he’s recovered somewhat from his disastrous 2007 campaign, but he’s still nowhere near the slugger he was when he first arrived in Seattle and the years leading up to that. Still, an improved walk rate has allowed Sexson to lift his BA up to the point where at least he’s not straddling the Mendoza Line anymore. Hey, it’s something.

Welcome to the debut of Game Report, our periodic column that’s going weekly. Every week, I’ll focus in on one game and provide you with all the relevant fantasy tidbits from it. This week, we caught Sunday’s game with the Angels, who have been rolling without their top two starters, taking on the Tigers, off to a very sluggish start, but showing signs of life.

It has been the same story for Tiger starter Justin Verlander all year long. He starts off cruising and then abruptly smashes into a wall. Nothing was different on Sunday.

Verlander only gave up two runs through five innings and then was torched for four earned runs in the sixth, leading to his exit and, ultimately, a 6-2 victory for the Angels over the Tigers.

Torii Hunter, signed as a free agent this offseason, led the way for the Angels, going 2-for-4 with a bases-clearing triple and three RBI. Surging shortstop Erick Aybar also provided a nice punch, going 2-for-3 with three RBI to raise his average on the season to a robust .346.

Los Angeles starter Jered Weaver was as equally impressive on the mound as were his teammates at the plate. He allowed only two runs on four hits in 6 1/3 innings, raising his record to 2-3 on the season and lowering his ERA to 4.21.

Outside of outfielder Magglio Ordonez, the Tigers struggled to get anything going at the plate. Maggs went 2-for-2, but the rest of the lineup was only 3-for-24 and was unable to crack Weaver’s code.

The always reliable Scot Shields came into the game in the eighth inning and wrapped things up with two innings of shutout ball.

The Los Angeles Angels of Southern California Orange County Near Anaheim towards Tijuana now sit at 16-10, tied with the upstart Oakland Athletics in the AL West, while the Detroit Tigers (hey, what a simple name) sit at 11-15, mired in last place in the AL Central. I guess money doesn’t buy championships, but then again if you have seen the Yankees the last eight seasons, you already knew that.

Fantasy Factor

• While Weaver has gotten off to a mediocre start, he flashed his brilliance again Sunday which is why everyone is so high on the 25-year-old righty (that and the fact that he is not his gawd-awful brother Jeff). Continue to ride Weaver as he heats up right along with the weather.
• On the flip side, owners might want to bench veteran Gary Sheffield as he is batting a putrid .159 with only one home run. He is bound to pick it up eventually, but plug a different solution into your lineup in the meantime.
• Maicer Izturis, only playing because Howie Kendrick is hurting, left the game early with back spasms. This may be a blessing in disguise for fantasy owners, as Izturis has been awful, and this injury may precipitate the promotion of Brandon Wood. Chone Figgins shifted over to second when Izturis went down. As for Kendrick and is hammy, he’s expected to be activated this week.
• Edgar Renteria’s seven-game hitting streak was snapped, but he produced his 16th RBI of the year on a sac fly. He’s on pace for his second 100-RBI year and is batting .324. It’ll do.
• With another two hits Sunday, Casey Kotchman wrapped up a 5-for-11 series. We’ve been waiting on this breakout forever, and now it’s here as this kid is on pace for 200 hits. You want contact hitting? You got it. Kotchman has now gone six straight games without whiffing.
• Carlos Guillen (knee) was back in action after missing three games and it’s great to have him back considering he’s off to a monster start and was one of the only Tigers who was actually hitting when they started so weakly. Of greater interest from a fantasy perspective is the fact that Guillen was playing third base in place of Brandon Inge. Instead of shifting Miguel Cabrera back to third, Detroit opted to put a gimpy Guillen there. Interesting indeed. If nothing else, for leagues where only one game is necessary, Guillen now qualifies at third base, in addition to shortstop (from last year) and first base, making him an incredibly versatile commodity.

For the first time in the history of the NCAA tournament, the selection committee nailed it. Four teams left; four number one seeds. The closest to a mid-major scare was Davidson, who got barely brushed aside by Kansas in the Elite Eight. That leaves just four big time programs in Kansas, UNC, UCLA, and Memphis.

With the exception of the Kansas-Davidson game, the other three Elite Eight games could hardly be called close. Number two seed Texas got blown out by Memphis (the trendy number one seed who everyone picked to lose). UCLA produced its first blowout since the opening round as the Bruins dispatched Xavier by 19 points. Finally, UNC controlled the number three seeded Louisville Cardinals as the Heels punched their ticket to the Final Four.

So onto San Antonio for the finale of the big dance, where scouts will drool at the talent and millions of eyes will be enthralled with their television sets (more than usual, that is). And this writer will be rooting against the Tar Heels who easily dispatched my Cougs (WSU) in the Sweet 16. But that’s beside the point! [Note from the editor -- there's no accounting for taste.]

UNC vs. Kansas, Saturday, 6:07 p.m., EST

Tar Heels coach Roy Williams once led the Jayhawks of Kansas to four Final Fours (say that quickly five times). Now, he has moved on to RotoRob’s favourite, Tar Heel Nation, where he has UNC in the Final Four against his former school.

If you did not know any better, you would think Kansas is the only vulnerable team entering this Final Four as, previously stated, it had the only close Elite Eight contest. But not so fast. The Jayhawks played the Cinderalla of the tourney, scorching Davidson Wildcats (also of North Carolina) featuring scoring machine Stephen Curry. In last week’s column, I told you to watch out for Curry and it is hard to say he disappointed, pouring in 25 points against Kansas. But the Jayhawks were able to avoid a last second upset as a desperation three by Davidson clanged off the rim at the buzzer.

Davidson was the surprise seed of the tournament, and was really one of the only Cinderellas. But the fact that Kansas could overcome the Wildcats in itself shows that the Jayhawks are real. Coach Bill Self finally led his squad to the Final Four after failing in all his previous tournaments as Williams’s successor.

Junior guards Mario Chalmers and Brandon Rush played stifling defense on Curry, and despite scoring 25, Curry was held to just 9-for-25 from the field. Chalmers also contributed 13 points and three rebounds while Rush poured in 12 points and a nice seven rebounds.

Kansas has above average guard play so can match up well with the Tar Heels in the back court, but the question is if its big men can hang with National Player of the Year Tyler Hansbrough. Sasha Kaun had a solid game against Davidson, pouring in 13 points on 6-for-6 from the field, but I’m not quite sure he is quick enough to guard Hansbrough.
UNC just might have too many offensive weapons for Kansas. Not only do the Tar Heels have Hansbrough, but guards Wayne Ellington and Ty Lawson are a lock for double-digit points every game as well as a probable first round selections if they were to enter the draft this April. Throw in with super sixth man Danny Green and you have no weak spots up and down the Tar Heels’ roster.

This will be a great game, but my bold prediction is Tar Heels walk away with it.

UCLA vs. Memphis, Saturday, 8:47 p.m. EST

For making three Final Fours in the last three seasons, the Bruins are not getting a ton of respect. Coach Ben Howland has his strongest team out of all the recent Final Four runs, and the Bruins look poised to make more noise in the Finals than they did last season.

Led by guard Darren Collison and freshman sensation Kevin Love, this team is tough. Xavier made a somewhat surprising run to the Elite Eight where it was just absolutely controlled by the Bruins of UCLA. Love chipped in his typical 19 points and ten boards while Collison chipped in with 19 points and five assists. The Bruins’ stifling defense also held Xavier to only 36 per cent shooting from the field. UCLA has a solid rotation with Russell Westbrook, Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, and Josh Shipp joining Love and Collison. All of these players can score, and all of these players can play extraordinary defense as well. They are athletic enough to run with Memphis but, most likely, will try to control the tempo and play a much slower pace than Memphis likes to play.

Memphis has really surprised so far in the tournament despite being a one seed. On ESPN’s predictions of the Sweet 16 last week, all eight analysts picked Memphis as the number one seed most likely to lose. Well, it didn’t. In fact, it wasn’t even close. The Tigers blew out Michigan State by 18 points which was not even a real indication of how lopsided that contest was. Memphis actually led 50-20 at the half in that game! The Elite Eight pitted them against Texas, a game which most thought the Tigers would lose. That did not happen either as they destroyed the Longhorns by 18. In that contest, do-it-all guard Chris Douglas-Roberts chipped in 25 points while freshman Derrick Rose tossed in 21 points. Texas was not able to rally and handle the amazing length of the Tigers.

If you’re a fan of the Tigers, you better enjoy your last glimpse of Rose. More than likely, he’s bolting to the NBA after this season and with good reason as he will be one of the top picks in the draft. With a backcourt of Rose and Douglas-Roberts, Memphis can score with anyone in the nation. Throw in the horses in the middle, Joey Dorsey and Robert Dozier, and you have a tough starting squad to defend. If Memphis gets into an uptempo game with UCLA, it has the edge and might be able to take the game from the Bruins. But if the game is close at the end, the Tigers might be in trouble as they were the third-worst free throw shooting team in Division I basketball this season.

Because I’ve seen UCLA play about 20 games this season (however, I’m not a UCLA fan) I know the squad pretty well and know how great of a coach Howland is. That’s not to take anything away from John Calipari (an outstanding coach as well), but UCLA has the experience from two previous Final Fours and I think it will eventually show as the Bruins will squeak by a very difficult Tigers squad.

The Bold Prediction

I’m calling UNC and UCLA for the championship in what will be a great game. But really you can’t go wrong with any of these four teams making the championship. They are four absolutely quality teams that NBA scouts will be going nuts over during this championship weekend.

If it is in fact UNC and UCLA, I think Love will be the best matchup of the year against Hansbrough and UCLA will pull off the victory giving Love a championship in his first and (most likely) only season in college.

There always seem to be those players that step up out of nowhere in the tournament. The guys who have you scratching your head while saying “Wait, who is this guy?” The 2008 head scratcher for many of you (myself included) is Stephen Curry of the Cinderella Davidson squad. In Davidson’s first two games against Gonzaga and Georgetown, Curry has almost single-handedly carried his team to victory. Against the Bulldogs of Gonzaga, he poured in a game high 40 points, and followed that performance with 30 points in Davidson’s upset of number two seed Georgetown. Wow.

So maybe you say the name sounds familiar. Probably true. His dad was Dell Curry, long-time NBA player and three-point specialist. Regardless, I’m sure Stephen Curry was not on too many Players-to-watch lists before the tournament started. But after scoring 70 points in two contests and leading his Wildcats to the Sweet 16, he is plenty well known now. He’s even being projected as a late first round, early second round pick in the NBA draft for his uncanny ability to knock down threes.

March Madness. Where the unknown become the known! [Of course, long-time readers of RotoRob know that we touted Curry in the lead up to last year's tourney.]

Super Sweet 16 (Game of the Week)

Washington State vs. UNC, Thursday 7:40 p.m. EST

Okay, call me a homer (it has to be obvious by now that I’m a Coug through and through), but regardless of my loyalties, this has to be one of the most intriguing games of the Sweet 16. You have the ultimate shutdown defense in Wazzu, and the ultimate high powered offense in UNC. Both teams have absolutely destroyed their first two tournament opponents. Here’s a brief recap of what happened in these teams’ first two games:

Wazzu looked shaky in its first round victory of Winthrop. And by shaky, I mean for a short 20-minute period in which the Cougars went into the half tied at 29. But that disappeared quickly as they outscored Winthrop 42-11 in the second half to win 71-40. Ouch. Talk about defensive prowess.

In its second contest, Wazzu never looked shaky against Luke Harangody and the high powered Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Notre Dame jumped out to a 5-0 lead early on, but that would be its only lead in the contest as Big East Player of the Year Harangody was held to ten points for the game. Final score, Wazzu 61 Notre Dame 41. For those who are counting, that represnted only half of Notre Dame’s season average point wise.

On to UNC. The Tar Heels have not played a game in doubt yet, as Tyler Hansbrough and company steamrolled their first two opponents. After earning the right to get bitch-slapped by UNC by winning the play-in game against Coppin “A Feel” St., Mt. St. Mary’s was, as expected, bitch slapped. It was not a close contest as Hansbrough and Ty Lawson led the team with 21 points apiece in the Heels’ 113-74 victory. Wow. That’s scary good offense right there.

Many people thought UNC would get a much harder challenge from the tough SEC Arkansas squad. Nope. The Tar Heels once again scored in triple digits in a 108-77 victory, this time led by superstar guard Wayne Ellington. What is even better is the squad played everyone on their bench, with all 15 players seeing some action. Talk about a stacked team.

So why is this such a great game? Mostly because it is the best offense versus the best defense in the nation. But also because of the insane amount of future NBA talent in the game. UNC’s Hansbrough might potentially turn pro after this season, as may backcourt stalwarts Lawson and Ellington. All look to be first round picks. For Wazzu, Kyle Weaver hopes to continue to soar on draft boards with his defensive prowess, and what better an opportunity then to face the number one team in the tournament? Also, senior guard Derrick Low will look to continue a strong tournament and move up his draft status from mid second round to early second round selection.

The final reason it will be the best Sweet 16 game? Because I’m flying across country to see it, so damn it, it better be!

Happy bracket watching everyone.

[Note from the editor -- RotoRob has been a UNC fan since he started following college hoops many a year ago, so this matchup pits two of our staff's teams against one another. All I can say, Daniel, is you better watch your back, or else I will arrange to have extremely flat beer served at your next kegger. I might even confiscate your bong.]

This is where Cinderella happens. This is where draft stocks soar. This is where champions are made. As Dick Vitale would say, “It’s awesome baby!” Yes, March Madness is finally here and office pools and bracket battles are starting all across the country. Who will win it all? Who will come up short? We are here to give you the whole scoop, breaking down each bracket and letting you know who we think will make the Final Four. But with all the madness, don’t blame your monetary losses on us!

SOUTH REGION

By JORDAN FRANK

Don’t tell Memphis head coach John Calipari that the number one seed in a region is supposed to get preferential treatment by the NCAA tournament selection committee. Two years ago, Memphis was a number one seed and was shipped out West, where it lost the regional final against UCLA in Oakland. This year – it’s déjà vu all over again. The Memphis Tigers are the number one seed in the South Region and the regional final site is Houston – which could lead to a potential quasi-road game for Memphis against the number two seed, the Texas Longhorns.

However, it would be a major mistake for either Memphis or Texas to look ahead to its potential regional final battle. Both teams face a difficult path to get through the South Region – most notably in potential regional semifinal matchups. The South Region may not be the toughest bracket top-to-bottom, but it is extremely top-heavy (mmm…top heavy…bow chicka bow bow). The top four seeds — Memphis, Texas, Stanford and Pittsburgh — are all loaded with talent, well-coached, experienced teams who could potentially win this Region.

Although I believe the South Region is top-heavy, there are potential difficult matchups for two of the top four teams in the second round. Memphis and Pittsburgh better beware of potential matchups against Mississippi State and Michigan State, respectively. Both of the underdogs match up well against the favourites and could play spoiler. As for some other potential early upsets, I like Saint Mary’s to knock off Miami and Kentucky to take down Marquette.

The Best Bets

Memphis Tigers (No. 1 Seed): The 33-1 Memphis Tigers are the first school in NCAA history to enter the NCAA tournament with 30 or more wins for the third straight year. The last two runs in the NCAA tournament for the Tigers ended in the regional final, but this year’s team includes sensational freshman point guard Derrick Rose. Memphis played a tough non-conference schedule this year and beat numerous tournament teams including Connecticut, Georgetown, Oklahoma, USC, Arizona and Gonzaga. The Tigers cruised through the Conference USA regular season without a blemish and easily won the conference tournament. Memphis’ only defeat came at home against Tennessee in a tough No. 1 versus No. 2 battle. The Tigers are led by guards Rose (13.9 PPG, 4.2 APG) and Chris Douglas-Roberts (17.2 PPG) who were both first-team All-Conference USA, and forward Joey Dorsey (7.0 PPG, 10.0 RPG) who was on the second-team. The team has struggled with its perimeter shooting all season and ranks 327th of 328 teams in Division I in foul shooting at 59.2 per cent.

Texas Longhorns (No. 2 Seed): After losing Kevin Durant last season, the number two pick in the 2007 NBA Draft, many predicted a down year for the Texas Longhorns. However, they responded with an 11-0 start to the 2007-08 season, which included marquee non-conference wins over UCLA and Tennessee. Additionally, the Longhorns were mere minutes away from beating Kansas in the Big 12 Championship game to capture a berth as a number one seed. The 28-6 Longhorns, who have won 12 of their last 14 games, are seeded number two in the South and their path to the NCAA championship runs through Little Rock, Houston and San Antonio. Texas beat Oklahoma, Kansas, Texas A&M and Kansas State on its way to sharing the Big 12 regular season championship with Kansas, and is led by its stud point guard D.J. Augustin, who was the Big 12’s No. 2 scorer (19.8 PPG) and leader in assists (5.7 APG). Augustin’s backcourt mate, A.J. Abrams, is a deadly outsider shooter who led the team with 89 three pointers and who averages 16.1 PPG and forward Damion James is the Longhorns’ muscle-in-the-middle, averaging 10.5 RPG and 13.2 PPG. It will be critical for the Longhorns to get interior contributions from James, centre Connor Atchley and especially forward Gary Johnson to advance from a potential regional semifinal matchup against Stanford and its twin seven footers.

Stanford Cardinal (No. 3 Seed): Stanford has been under the radar for most of the season due to the team’s soft non-conference schedule and the suspension of Brook Lopez for the first semester. Don’t look now, but Stanford has won nine of its last 13 in a loaded conference and settled for second place in the Pac-10 after a controversial call at UCLA ended its hopes of a regular season championship. The Cardinal are a defensive juggernaut and are in the nation’s top ten in both two-point field goal defense and overall effective field goal defense. The team also ranks in the Top 25 in both offensive and defensive rebounding. The Cardinal can overwhelm teams inside with its twin seven-footers Brook and Robin Lopez. Brook leads the team by averaging 19.2 PPG and 8.5 RPG, while his brother Robin averages 10.0 PPG and 5.6 RPG. Anthony Goods (10.8 PPG) is the main 3-point threat and point guard Mitch Johnson averages 4.8 APG.

The Sleeper

Pittsburgh Panthers (No. 4 Seed): To call the Panthers a dark horse is a bit of a stretch, but this team has overcome significant injuries and is as dangerous as any team in the country. The Panthers won the Big East Conference tournament by beating Cincinnati, Louisville, Marquette and Georgetown in a four-day span. Despite the injuries, Pittsburgh finished with a school-record seventh consecutive 20-win season. Junior point guard Levance Fields, who averages 11.1 PPG, 3.9 RPG and 5.4 APG, returned in mid-February after missing 12 games with a broken left foot, and the team lost Mike Cook (10.4 PPG) for the season. The Panthers depend on tough, aggressive defense and the inside scoring of DeJuan Blair (11.7 PPG and 9.1 RPG) and Sam Young (18.3 PPG and 6.4 RPG). Because of its strong and tenacious team defense, Pittsburgh could be a difficult matchup for Memphis in a potential regional semifinal.

Players to Watch

Derrick Rose – Memphis: The freshman guard for the Tigers is arguably the top point guard in the country and is a sure-fire lottery pick in the 2008 NBA Draft. While Rose’s raw stats are solid (13.9 PPG, 4.2 APG, 4.2 RPG, 1.2 SPG), it is his intangibles that are making NBA scouts salivate. Rose has fantastic vision on the court and has an incredible knack of making his teammates better. He has the ability to take over games with his size and athleticism and can get to the rim with ease.

Brook Lopez – Stanford: Lopez is another player destined to be a lottery pick in next year’s NBA draft. He is a fundamentally sound and strong big man who averaged 19.2 points, 8.5 boards and 1.9 blocks per game this season. Lopez has a strong work ethic and has improved his shooting from both the field and the free throw line this season. As true seven-footers, Brook and his brother Robin will pose a tough matchup for smaller teams in the tournament.

D.J. Augustin – Texas: The floor general for the Longhorns is the second best point guard in the country (see above). Augustin is a pure point guard who models his game after Steve Nash. In his sophomore season, Augustin is averaging 19.8 points, 5.7 dimes, 2.9 boards and 1.3 steals. He is an incredible ball-handler who runs the pick-and-roll to perfection and can easily dribble-penetrate to find the open man.

Jamont Gordon – Mississippi State: Gordon is an explosive guard who averages 17 points, six rebounds and five assists for the Bulldogs. In his junior season, he was a unanimous selection to the All-SEC first team and has shown incredible versatility in leading the Bulldogs into the tournament. Gordon uses his size (6′4”, 230) and strength to get to the hole and his improved shooting has garnered the attention of NBA scouts.

Patrick Mills – Saint Mary’s: Mills is a 5′11” Australian freshman guard who is lightning-quick and could shock some teams in the tournament with his scoring ability. Earlier this season, Mills led Saint Mary’s to a victory over Oregon (who was ranked No. 11 at the time) by scoring 37 points. He averages 14.5 points, 3.4 assists and 1.8 steals for the Gaels.

Others to Watch

Jarvis Varnado – Mississippi State
Dominic James – Marquette
Chris Douglas-Roberts – Memphis
Dionte Christmas – Temple
Joe Crawford – Kentucky

Projected Region Winner

The Texas Longhorns will benefit from the favourable venues and cut the nets in Houston on their way to San Antonio.

MIDWEST REGION

By ANDY GOLDSTEIN

At first, I was pretty bummed about getting stuck covering the Midwest. I mean, it’s the antithesis of flash. Instead, I get to go on about muckers (UNLV), grinders (Wisconsin), and plodders (Georgetown). Yes, the Midwest is the slowest region in the whole tournament, but there’s beauty in molassas ball, right? Who doesn’t love a 53-50 second round nailbiter!? I live to see the shot clock in the corner go from serene white to impending-doom-red! Every time! Okay, I can’t do this anymore. Seriously, I must have upset the March Madness gods. I hate stone-age basketball. They might as well get rid of the shot clock altogether. Oh no. I just realized Wisconsin could end up facing Georgetown in the third round. That narcolepsy-inducing game should come with a warning: please don’t listen on the radio if you’re operating a vehicle.

The Best Bets

Kansas Jayhawks (No. 1 seed): The Big 12 Champions will be hard to stop behind a senior-laden team. A high power offense will be thrust forth in the early rounds of the tournament and my guess is they will make the Final Four.

Georgetown Hoyas (No. 2 seed): The Hoyas made a huge run in last year’s tournament and look to follow that up this season. Roy Hibbert elected to come back for his senior season instead of going pro and will lead a team with plenty of experience and a great shot in a tough bracket to make the Final Four.

Wisconsin Badgers (No. 3 seed): The Badgers probably feel snubbed. After winning the Big Ten tournament, as well as being ranked fifth in the country, they were only awarded a three seed in the Midwest. If Wisconsin can play as well as its coach Bo Ryan does the dance to Soulja Boy’s “Crank Dat,” count them in to at least the Elite Eight with a great shot at making the Final Four.

The Sleeper

Michael Beasley’s Kansas State squad strikes me as the team that could surprise the most. Obviously, they will have the best player in every game, which is a nice starting point. Maybe more importantly, they play a faster paced game than anyone else in the region, and they’re the only low-ranked team that will have a shot at controlling the tempo against the high seeds. While I do see them beating USC in first round, I think they’ll run into a wall against the Badgers. The only other double digit seed that I see with a chance to make a Sweet 16 run would be the Villanova Wildcats, who garnered a 12 seed. Interestingly, their first game against Clemson in the 5-12 matchup will be tougher than the second round matchups. Vanderbilt is a very weak No. 4, but Siena isn’t exactly a dangerous 13 seed, so the winner of Clemson-’Nova should make it another round. I am not that bold, since Clemson is very strong and the Wildcats are too inconsistent, but if they do pull the upset, I totally called it.

Players to Watch

Mario Chalmers-Kansas: Kansas, clearly one of the best teams in the country, is a team that has a number of quality players. It’s almost unfair to single just one or two out, but guard Mario Chalmers has been playing well of late. Against Texas in the Big 12 title game, he scored a career-high 30 points.

Roy Hibbert-Georgetown: The centre from Georgetown can have a big impact on this bracket. Unfortunately, he’s shown a tendency to put himself in foul trouble, which cuts his minutes significantly. But he has plenty of experience after last year’s run.

Michael Beasley-Kansas State: The National Player of the Year runner up, he is an extreme force to be reckoned with. Averaging a double-double, Beasley can almost single-handedly lead his Wildcats to an upset over first round opponent USC and O.J. Mayo.

Others to Watch

Sherron Collins-Kansas
Delonte Huff-Portland State

Projected Region Winner

I hate picking chalk. I despise it. I can’t think of anything worse. But the one redeeming part of having to slog through the Midwest Region is that I get to explain that Kansas is not only going to win the bracket, but also the National Championship. It has the balance to get through anyone.

WEST REGION

By RotoRob

Other than UCLA – a legitimate threat to win it all this year – the West Region isn’t exactly brimming with tourney contenders. Duke as a two seed? This is a team that couldn’t even win the ACC regular season title or the conference tournament. And now the Blue Devils have to travel far from home to try to win their region. Frankly, I’ll be shocked if they survive until the Elite Eight.

There are some interesting schools here, however. Drake, who shocked many by sweeping its way through the always fascinating MVC tourney; Jim Calhoun’s UConn Huskies, who seem to be rounding into form at the right time; and the Purdue Boilermakers, who have done an amazing job of turning the program around.

The Best Bets

UCLA (No. 1 seed): The Bruins probably have the easiest road to the Final Four of any of the No. 1 seeds. After wrapping up a third straight Pac-10 regular season title, UCLA swept through a tourney that featured six teams headed to the dance, and it came away unscathed, stretching an overall winning streak to 10 games. This club, capable of controlling games with its defense, has plenty of experience, having made it to the last two Final Fours. In fact, only Kentucky has more tournament appearances in its history. As long as Kevin Love’s back doesn’t act up again and Luc Richard Mbah a Moute’s ankle is okay, this team will roll.

Xavier (No. 3 seed): The Musketeers, normally a superb 3-point shooing team, went ice cold in the Atlantic 10 semis, sinking just 1-of-14. The result? Xavier was held to just 53 points, its lowest output of the season. But this team was headed to the dance either way, and the Musketeers, an excellent FT shooting team, are poised for a very deep tournament run.

Drake (No. 5 seed): I’m going out on a limb here a bit, but those Missouri Valley schools have made sexy choices in recent years, and this team did win 28 games this season. The only thing holding the Bulldogs back is experience – they haven’t made the tourney since 1971. But any team capable of ending the No. 1 seed jinx in the MVC (they’re the first club to win the tourney as the top seed in that conference in a decade) must have some kismet on their side. Besides, did you see what Drake did to Illinois State in the tourney final? Woah. The Bulldogs are capable of shredding opponents with an array of 3-point shooters, featuring four players who average well over one trey per game, including Josh Young and Klayton Korver, who both average better than two per game. Assuming Drake can get by a powerful Western Kentucky squad (and those No. 5 vs. No. 12 matchups are always a minefield), this team has a chance to make some serious noise in the tourney.

The Sleeper

West Virginia (No. 7 seed): Because of its ability to get hot and light it up, West Virginia will always be a threat. The Mountaineers showed this when they knocked off UConn in the Big East quarterfinals. I have my doubts about Duke’s ability to get past the Sweet 16, and I wouldn’t be shocked to see the Devils bow to WVU in the second round. The Mountaineers have an upset in them waiting to be unleashed.

Players to Watch

Jerryd Bayless-Arizona: The athletic and fast Bayless will be a lottery pick, but whether his NBA future is as a PG or a combo guard remains to be seen. Now is his chance to prove he can run an offense. Compared by some to Gilbert Arenas, another less-than-true PG who is an explosive scorer, Bayless averaged 20 PPG but he turns the ball over too much.

DeAndre Jordan-Texas A&M: With Jordan, it’s not so much what’s he done as what he might do. This seven-footer is blessed with a man-child’s body a la Dwight Howard, so NBA scouts are drooling as they consider him for a lottery pick slot. Coming off the bench this year, Jordan didn’t exactly wow anyone in his freshman season, but with his ability to be a fantastic, young low-post presence similar to Andrew Bynum, teams will be coveting this brimming-with-potential, athletic big man.

Russell Westbrook-UCLA: The first of a host of UCLA stars expected to be drafted this summer, this soph exploded onto the scene this year, and was blazing down the stretch, scoring in double figures in eight straight games until the Stanford game Saturday. Westbrook wears No. 0 but is anything but in scouts’ minds, establishing himself as a clear lottery pick with his athleticism and quickness. This lefty combo guard, compared to Monta Ellis, will need to add strength, and is certainly not someone who will step in to the NBA and make an immediate impact, but Westbrook has a chance to cement his status as a top 10 pick with a big tourney.

Hasheem Thabeet-Connecticut: This dude is a serious blocking machine, recording at least two swats per game for the past 14 contests. At 7′3″, he is an incredibly intimidating presence under his own basket, earlier this year putting up a 10-block game. However, as dominating as Thabeet is on D, he is a weak post player, only capable of scoring when he gets position within a few feet of the bucket. Still, Thabeet, who averaged 4.5 BPG this season, looks like he’ll be a lottery pick and take his place as the next Dikembe Mutombo, throwing nightly block parties in the NBA.

Kevin Love-UCLA: Love has scouts drooling with his combination of size (6′10″, 271), strength and skills. There’s almost nothing he can’t do, whether it’s scoring, rebounding, blocking or stepping behind the arc to can a 3-pointer. Gifted with a great jump shot as well as superb post skills, Love looks like a mid first round pick right now, but a big tourney could vault him into a lottery slot. The only major knock on Love is his lack of speed, so he’s best suited to thrive on a half-court team.

Others to Watch

Darren Collison-UCLA
Trent Plaisted-BYU
Luc Richard Mbah A Moute-UCLA
DeMarcus Nelson-Duke
Courtney Lee-Western Kentucky

Projected Region Winner

UCLA is on its way to a third straight Final Four, and is a good bet to go to the Championship game.

EAST REGION

By DANIEL OLSEN

In this writer’s humble opinion, the East is the toughest region in the tournament. Not only does it have the number one overall seed in UNC, but Indiana is an eight seed! The Hoosiers have obviously struggled since the dismissal of cheater, ahem, coach Kelvin Sampson, but still they had a very solid year in a strong Big Ten Conference.

Speaking of Indiana, look for a potential huge matchup with UNC in the second round, assuming the Hoosiers can escape Arkansas in a tough opening round contest.

Also in this bracket you have a previously ranked number one (Tennessee), a former Cinderella mid-major in George Mason, always tough Louisville, and a new Pac-10 powerhouse in Washington State.

With the exception of a few of the lower ranked teams, just about anyone could potentially win this bracket.

The Best Bets

UNC (No. 1 seed):

Tell me you want to bet against the number one overall seed in the tournament and team who finished number one in the final AP rankings. Then I will tell you that you’re crazy. Led by centre Tyler Hansbrough and guard Ty Lawson, this team is tough. Fresh off the ACC championship, the Tar Heels are gunning for the national championship and are poised to make a huge run led by coach Roy Williams. However, after round one, there will be no easy games for the Tar Heels.

Tennessee (No. 2 seed): While the Volunteers stumbled a bit after briefly being ranked number one in the nation, they still finished with a two seed in the East and look poised to dominate the bottom half of the East bracket. Chris Lofton will have to continue to be a super stroker for Tennesse to make a run at the Final Four. With Bruce Pearl at the helm, it looks like the sky might be the limit for the Volunteers. They have plenty of experience with a team that made a deep run into the tournament last season as well.

Washington State (No. 4 seed): Sure they are from Pullman, Washington (where?) and are only making their second tournament appearance in the last 14 seasons. But, it is their second tournament appearance in a row and is being led by one of the most promising young coaches in the nation in Tony Bennett (just ask Indiana, a school that can’t stop gazing at him after the dismissal of Sampson). The Cougars are a senior-led team with guards Kyle Weaver and Derrick Low. They can shoot the three almost as well as anyone in the country with four legitimate three-point threats on the team. Factor in the Pac-10’s best defense statistically, and they could advance to at least the Sweet Sixteen.

The Sleeper

George Mason (No. 12 seed): These guys know how to win. Just two years ago they made it to the Final Four out of nowhere! They still have two starters from that squad in Folarin Campbell and Will Thomas. The Patriots have had some big wins this season, including one over Beasley’s Kansas State. They have plenty enough offense, but they will have to play big time defense in order to have a chance in this tournament.

Players to Watch

Kyle Weaver-Washington State: The 6′6″ senior guard is one of the best defensive players in the land and has had a shutdown season leading him to be a probable late first round pick in the upcoming NBA draft. While he doesn’t always light up the scoreboard with points like Beasley and Mayo, he will chip in 10-15 points a game and a couple of steals per contest. He is the heart and soul of the Cougars.

Tyler Hansbrough-UNC: He’s only the National Player of the Year. No big deal right? Wrong. Hansbrough is unstoppable at times and the centre will only continue to shine in the tournament. Look for him to have a double-double in every contest in the tournament and drop even more scouts’ jaws with his uncanny ability to score and rebound. He should be leading his Tar Heels deep in the tournament.

Reggie Larry-Boise State: Sure, the Broncos are from the mediocre WAC conference, but Larry is definitely something to write home about. The forward is averaging 19.6 points per contest as well as pulling down 9.3 rebounds. The team barely made the tournament after a triple overtime victory in the WAC championship against New Mexico State. What did Larry do in that contest? Oh, he merely poured in 31 points and pulled down 16 points. No big deal.

Luke Harangody-Notre Dame: No one said anything about Harangody prior to the season. Now, the whole nation is raving about him. Going into the tournament, the forward is averaging a double-double with 21 points and 10 rebounds per game. Notre Dame will need him if it has any chance of advancing, as it has no easy games in the bracket, starting off with Cinderella special George Mason. But, Harangody has shown he has what it takes to lead the Fighting Irish and he will do just that.

Chris Lofton-Tennessee: This senior rainmaker has led Tennessee all season in three-point shooting at a 40 per cent clip while averaging 16 points per game. This is his last chance to shine in the NCAA tournament and he hopes to impress NBA scouts and improve his draft stock which he should be able to do as his Volunteers have a favourable first few games.

Others to Watch

Derrick Low-Washington State
David Padgett-Lousiville
Eric Gordon-Indiana
D.J. White-Indiana
Sonny Weems-Arkansas
Blake Griffin-Oklahoma

Projected Region Winner

I hate being the guy to just go with the obvious, but I will do it anyways. The winner has to be UNC. I do not think anyone can really match up with Hansbrough, and he will dominate all the big men in the bracket. That being said, Tennessee is the one team that can challenge the Heels. But still, go ahead and pick UNC.

The Final Four

Based on our predictions, the Final Four will consist of Texas, Kansas, UCLA, and UNC. That’s right, three number one seeds. Guess we like to play it safe, huh?

Bold prediction: the winner of the best Conference in the land (the Pac-10) will win the 2008 Tournament. Yah, UCLA all the way!

[Note from the Editor: This is the 1,000th post in the history of RotoRob.com. A quick thanks to all our readers, all our writers and the rest of Team RotoRob. Okay, enough blathering...on to some college hoops. By the way, stay tuned for our March Madness Preview, coming soon.]

If you see Luke Harangody in street clothes on the campus at Notre Dame, you might think he suits up for the football team. The 6′8″, 251-pound sophomore looks like a fullback or linebacker as opposed to a forward for the Fighting Irish’s tourney-bound hoops team.

Harangody was told coming into Notre Dame that he may never see any playing time and spend his career on the bench. But now, just a sophomore, he has proved everyone wrong and come up big. He currently averages 21 points as well as pulling down 10 boards per game in the tough Big East Conference. Despite Notre Dame’s loss to Louisville last Thursday, Harangody poured in an incredible 40 points on 16-for-28 shooting from the field. Just to make sure people knew there were more aspects to his game, he pulled down 12 boards as well. Before this contest, he had never made a three-pointer in his college career. But he stepped up and knocked down 3-for-4 from beyond the arc, helping turn what once seemed a blowout into a nail biter at the end.

While it is doubtful the impressive Harangody will go pro after this season, look for him to be even more of a force next season. If he can continue his hot streak behind the arc, he could be a more diverse version of Kyle Korver with more tools if he makes it to the league.

Team of the Week

For how much success the Gonzaga Bulldogs have had the last decade, there sure isn’t much talk about them from Spokane.

The Bulldogs wrapped up at least a tie of the West Coast Conference last week with a win over previously ranked St. Mary’s, and then followed that up with a thrashing over Santa Clara on Monday to finish their regular season at 24-6. Believe it or not, they finally re-entered this week’s rankings for the first time in over three months.

The Bulldogs are paced by Matt Bouldin, who is scoring 13 points per game and just poured in 21 in the win over St. Mary’s. But the real intrigue on the team is star guard Jeremy Pargo. His brother Jannero is already a back-up guard in the NBA to Hornets’ guard Chris Paul, and the younger Pargo hopes he can make it to the league as well. Pargo currently averages 11.8 points per game as well as a hefty 6.2 assists. While only a junior, don’t be surprised to see him bolt for the pros after having a successful campaign this season.

Who’s Hot

• Brook Lopez, C, Stanford: This 7′0″, 260-pound sophomore has been a tear all season in the Pac-10 with the only other centre in the ballpark being freshman sensation Kevin Love. Lopez is currently averaging 19.3 points per game as well as grabbing 7.8 boards a contest. After having to sit out the first nine games of the season due to academic probation, he has been making up for lost time. Against 22nd-ranked Washington State last weekend, Lopez poured in 25 points and added six rebounds, catapulting his team from an 11-point deficit at halftime to a seven-point victory. It is widely thought that he will go pro after this season, and draft projections have him as a high lottery pick. Look for Lopez to make an immediate impact in the NBA.
• Chris Kramer, G, Purdue: Kramer is an undersized guard at only 6′3″, but has been the defensive playmaker all year for the Boilermakers. Think of him as a defensive specialist. While Kramer only averages seven points per contest, his 2.3 steals per game is nothing to frown at. He is only a sophomore, so he has plenty of time to improve his offensive skills and, if he does, look for him to go to the league as a defensive specialist.

Who’s Not

• The Pac-10 Referees: It is widely known that the Pac-10 football referees are often off their game, especially after blowing the Oregon-Oklahoma contest a few years ago. But who knew the basketball officials were this awful as well? In Saturday’s Washington State-Stanford contest, the first seven foul calls of the game went against Washington State. After that, the next nine calls went against Stanford, including a technical on head coach Trent Johnson. Talk about lack of consistency. Let’s hope these Pac-10 refs don’t get to officiate the postseason and disrupt our viewing of our soon-to-be NBA stars.

Game of the Week

UNC vs. Duke, Saturday, March 8, 9 p.m. EST

What’s not to love about the number one team in the nation (UNC) facing the number five team (Duke)? A scouts dream!

Watch National Player of the Year candidate Tyler Hansbrough take on Greg Paulus as this game decides who wins the ACC outright as both teams currently sit at 13-2 in conference.

You gotta love this rivalry, even if (like me) you actually hate both schools. (Do what I do, just wait until the second half with three minutes left and whichever team is losing, half-heartedly cheer for them.)