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A couple years ago I participated in a fantasy football league at work. I normally don’t like work leagues as there are too many things that can go wrong to ruin the experience. People leave the company,  abandon their team, your boss makes an unfair trade offer and you feel compelled to just accept, someone doesn’t pay the league fee, etc. It’s good to keep your worlds apart as George Costanza would say. But I got pulled in and they needed another person so someone suggested the new girl who just moved from New England.

Excuse me? A girl in our fantasy football draft? Whoa.

I started getting nervous like we had just invited the Russians into our defense strategy meeting. How dare a female come into our male dominated world of fantasy football.

At the draft she took Tom Brady in the 1st round( ha ha, she took a QB in the 1st round ) because he was cute. In the 2nd round she took Randy Moss ( ha ha, she took a clubhouse cancer ) because so many people in New England were talking about Moss. Later on she took Chris Cooley and Adam Vinatieri not because of their tremendous upside but because of their tremendous backsides ( not my words).

An unusual draft strategy for sure and we know how it turned out. Brady put up incredible numbers worthy of the top overall pick by throwing many of those td’s to Moss. Cooley, Vinatieri and company did just enough, she won the league and spent the winnings on a very nice spa day.

The moral of the story is anyone can win in fantasy football. You need to have some luck on your side and avoid those injuries. Let’s open this weeks Notebook to see who is banged up  and what it means from a fantasy football prospective.

The Notebook:

• I am liking Pierre Thomas more and more each day especially now that Reggie Bush is still battling injuries.  Move Bush down on draft boards and Thomas’s  stock is increasing to a very high # 2 running back.
• Marc Bulger is trying hard to be ready for week 1 but Kyle Boller is impressing with St. Louis.  Bulger is a #3 QB at best but should he miss a start, get ready to claim Boller.
• Matt Cassel looks to be out 2-4 weeks with a leg injury.  The concern I have with this is that Cassel might rush a return based on inexperience rehabbing as well as the pressure to be a starter.  Move Cassel down to a late round flyer or if you have already drafted him, look to pick up a QB that has an easy first month schedule like David Garrard or Matt Schaub.
• Reports from here in Atlanta is that the injury to Jerious Norwood is not that serious.  I saw that play live and it looked serious to me.  I am not sure if we are getting the full story on this, we’ll see.  This actually helps Michael Turner as the Falcons will continue to give Turner the majority of carries if Norwood is less than 100%. 

Finally, I was saddened to hear tonight that Teddy Bruschi is retiring from the Patriots.  We all remember how he came back from a stroke that could have killed him to not only return to work but to return to work as a NFL player.  I have many pictures  of Bruschi hanging in my office including my favorite one of him throwing snow up in the air in front of the crowd who was loving it.  Whether you like the Patriots or not, we should all raise our glasses one last time for Teddy Bruuuuuuschi.

Busy upcoming week for us here at Fantasy-Football-First.  We will continue to update our cheat sheets as things develop.  We also will be having our special 1 hour Draft Strategy podcast ( click on the BlogtalkRadio button to the right).  We will also be starting a SURVIVOR Pool so keep checking back.

A regular column on this website is “This Week in Fantasy Football” where we talk about the events of the week. Today, it’s “Today in Fantasy Football” as we have a lot going on. Let’s break it down.

Michael Vick:

When I first heard the news that Vick signed with the Eagles I went to Twitter. For about 10 minutes Twitter was down saying it had too many tweets going on. Google Trends has it as # 1 most searched item this evening. It’s a big story for the NFL and society as a whole. But is it relevant from a fantasy football prospective? Not really. The Eagles signed a backup quarterback behind their franchise quarterback of the last decade.

Let’s break it down even further.

Donovan McNabb is the quarterback for the Eagles whether Philly fans like it or not. He has 2 years left on his contract with all money virtually guaranteed. They signed Vick to a 1 year deal with an option for the next year with just 16% of the money in the first year. This a tryout for Vick, not a long term solution for the Eagles. It’s also a tryout for the Philadelphia community. No one truly knows what the reaction will be. Will there be protests outside the stadium or will sponsors boycott? Hard to say but I bet they will sell enough jerseys to cover their initial investment in Vick.

Let’s dive in either further.

From a fantasy football prospective, Vick has very little value. He has to serve his suspension and then most likely will be used in a gimmick type role. There are 32 starting quarterbacks and many reserves that carry more value. I am torn on what it does to McNabb’s value. There is going to be a distraction by the media, fans will turn on him more quickly this year with Vick looming on the sidelines. But maybe that keeps him more focused, more determined.

I think McNabb’s value will ultimately take a hit, especially as the season progresses. I expect Vick to be used in gimmick plays in the red zone which will hurt McNabb’s production.

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Tom Brady:

Unable to watch the game live ( why can’t directv carry preseason games ?) but all reports from a contact up in New England was that Brady looked good. I’ll review the film on NFL Network tomorrow to comment further. Be careful fantasy fans. That was a very serious injury and playing a half of football doesn’t change that physically. Mentally, that’s why he played at all. I may have Brady ranked too low on my cheat sheets. I’ll update after watching the film.

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Terrell Owens:

During the 2nd game of my junior year of high school football, I caught my pinkie finger in the helmet of an opponent. As a result, my finger broke in several places. I had to make a tough decision. Have the surgery to repair my finger and end my season or play through it and risk long term effects including possibly losing it altogether. I had the surgery. What was surprising was the reaction of my teammates who called me another name for a cat. I was reminded of  that this week when I read about the toe injury of Owens. This little injury  can end up being a big thing.  Toes are pretty important to wide receivers. I would watch this closely and in the mean time, Owens drops a few slots in the rankings.

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I have to give Pittsburgh Steelers  fans a lot of credit. They are everywhere and I mean everywhere. I have travelled the country and sat on Sunday afternoon bar stools from Seekonk, Massachusetts to Seattle, Washington and came across a Terrible Towel. I have sweat in Key West, Florida and Cancun, Mexico on a hangover Sunday and watched people sing songs after touchdowns while wearing their Bettis jerseys. Turn on any Steeler away game and watch the sea of black and gold in the stands. It’s awesome.

And before Directv, sickening.

Now they don’t bother me as my living room outside Atlanta, Georgia is tuned into my New England Patriots or Red Zone channel but in years past that wasn’t the case and I would have to go to the old sports bars in hopes of watching my games. I have been able to separate myself from the Steeler fans that would show up in droves to these sports bars and get their games on the big screen while I would get pushed down into a corner or sometimes not even get my game on.

I have moved on and learned to deal with my hate, or is it jealousy, for the Steeler fans. I thought of you this week when I read that the NFL is changing the draft. Steeler fans love to drink, hang out in large groups and wear their jerseys. The NFL draft gives them the perfect excuse for a draft party. Now the NFL has messed that all up for the Steeler fans draft parties. They are spreading it out over 3 days and making it totally inconvenient for anyone on the West Coast. Their reasoning is that more people will get to watch the draft.  Anyone with a brain realizes it’s just a way to get more hits to nfl.com as half the country will be forced to watch the first round from work on their computers.

On the other hand, Steeler fans can now party for 3 straight days while the rest of us just try to follow along. Let’s open this week’s Notebook:

• ESPN just posted their most recent mock draft.  LaDanian Tomlinson went #3 overall.  Tom Brady was the #1 quarterback.  I love it when people show up to drafts with last years magazines.  I expect better out of you ESPN.
• Brett Favre’s decision is expected by Friday.  Come on Minnesota, what are you doing with this?  Didn’t you see how Favre cost the Jet’s their season last year?  Am I the only one who thinks Sage Rosenfels is better than Favre at this point? 
• Michael Vick is not worth drafting in any formats.  I do not see the possibilty of any productive numbers this year.
• I am concerned about the possible holdouts of Anquan Boldin and Brandon Marshall.

With training camps opening this week, it’ll be good to get past the Favre and Vick stories and read about things more exciting like ACL’s.

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Is this a great country or what?  Yes, I know we are in the middle of a recession with staggering unemployment, 401k’s half of what they were two years ago, house values down 50% if you are lucky and social security about to run out. Heck, even million dollar athletes ( Lenny Dykstra and Bernie Kosar this week) are standing in line down at the county court house filing those bankruptcy papers.

But this is America, the land of opportunity, and you could be at rock bottom like on the verge of being cut last preseason and then on top of the world today signing a 60 million dollar contract. Don’t tell the folks in Kansas City there is a recession. They just gave Matt Cassell 60 million dollars and front loaded it with guaranteed money that there is no way they can back pedal out of it if he turns out to be the one hit wonder many are predicting him to be.

We all know the story by now. Matt Cassell who never started a college game somehow gets drafted by the Patriots, rides the bench for a few years, almost gets cut last August, gets pushed into action by Tom Brady’s injury and now is on top of the world. But beware fantasy owners, not so fast penciling him into your lineup.

Cassell’s long term contract shows that the Chiefs are believing that last season wasn’t a fluke. There are many things to like from watching Cassell develop last season. He did seem to get better as the season progressed. He won his last 4 games, 3 of which were on the road. He had back to back 400 yard weeks and won many leagues last year as a waiver wire pickup. On the downside was the fact that he took a team that went 16-0 the prior season and went 10-5 as a starter and missing the playoffs. The Patriots did not open the playbook for him for nearly 2 months and he had trouble with the long ball and instead would look for the quick pass to the running back. He finished with 21 td’s and 10 int’s. Not sure I would break the bank for those numbers.

What can we expect this year? Is he the answer to Kansas City’s recent problems or just an extension of them? I am concerned that there will be a drop off. I am concerned about the difference in system as well as nobody that can catch the short pass in the backfield. I have Cassell ranked as a low #1 / high # 2 quarterback. Proceed with caution.

Let’s open this week’s NoteBook:

• Derrick Mason of the Baltimore Ravens shockingly retired.  He had 80 catches for 1,037 yard and 5 scores last year.  He was listed as # 2 on the Ravens depth chart and # 39 in my top 50 wide receivers cheat sheet.  As a result Mark Clayton’s value goes up, Joe Flacco’s goes down and Demetrius Williams becomes a late round pick in very deep leagues.
• San Francisco said this week that they will decide who their starting quarterback is by the 3rd preseason game.  Shaun Hill and Alex Smith are battling it out.  Whomever emerges will have a short leash on a bad team and thus both players should be avoided for now.
• Heard of the Curse of TMZ ?  Probably not as I just made it up but the theory is that whomever TMZ is following around prior to the season will get hurt early in the season.  It started last year with Tom Brady and this year it could be Tony Romo.   It’s never good when your quarterback is constantly in the tabloids.  Dallas, you can’t be pleased with this attention.  I am sensing some sort of a groin pull. 

The last few internet radio shows have been fun.  Check out the archives on the RADIO page above. -JC

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If the events of the past week has taught us anything, it’s that the way we get late breaking information has changed. Newspapers- that’s so last year. I cancelled my subscription  a long time ago. Local news -I watch it only for the weather and that’s just during a storm. When something happens like the death of the King of Pop last Thursday, people flock to the internet for information. I have heard stories of how people first heard the news through Twitter, Facebook, TMZ and informed their closest friends, family and followers within minutes.

When I found out, through my homepage on Yahoo, not once did I think to turn on the TV for information. As I continued to surf for information I became surprised by how many rumors and lies were circulating as well. There were reports of other celebrities dying and it became difficult to figure out the truth.

That got me thinking about these social networking sites being able to spread information so quickly.   But is that really a good thing?  It can be but I can also see where it can be harmful if the information is untrue.

In my old days of playing fantasy football, I did my research with a magazine from the supermarket and my lineup decisions from the injury report in Friday’s sports section. Not now, it’s all internet and most nfl players are on Facebook or Twitter or both. This year is going to be very interesting to watch from the stand point that this is the first year of fantasy football where we are going to get a lot of information from these social networking sites.   Players will tell us how they feel, how they will play and their injury status as well as what time they land at the airport and what restaurant they go to for dinner. 

Whether it’s accurate or not remains to be seen.

Let’s open this weeks Notebook:

• Dennis Northcutt was traded from Jacksonville to Detroit this week.  That hurts his chances of going to the playoffs but increases his value from a fantasy football prospective.  Last year he had 545 yards and 2 td’s.  Those numbers will improve with Detroit but think of him no more than a 4th WR, drafted only in the deepest of leagues.
• Word out of Arizona is that Chris “Beanie” Wells is behind schedule in learning the Cardinals system.  For the time being that has to please Tim Hightower owners.  The Arizona running back situation is too tough to predict at this point.  I would stay clear of both until we get a better handle on it.
• Still collecting unemployment checks are Jerry Porter and Marvin Harrison.  Very little interest out there for either.
• I had high hopes that NBC Sports, who wants to be a major sports website along the lines of CBS, Fox and Yahoo, came out with their fantasy football draft guide this week for $14.99 .  Hey NBC, we can get that same information from a dozen other sites for free.  I guess they need the cash to pay the 8 people on their Sunday Night pregame show.
• I heard that Miami may be interested in Michael Vick.  I don’t think he will play in the NFL at all this year but I would like to see him go to Cleveland.  Wouldn’t it be nice to see what happens if he was to leap into the Dawg Pound?

That’s it for this week’s Notebook.  Check out our RADIO page for our latest internet radio shows, follow us on Twitter or support us by purchasing something you need on our STORE page. 

JC

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Earlier this week Chad Ochocinco of the Cincinnati Bengals came out and made the prediction that the Bengals would be going to the playoffs this season. Yes, those Bengals which won 4 games last year and play in the same division as the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens. All the major websites picked up the quote and ran it as a news story this week. Why?

Partly because it’s June and there is no other news out there. Partly because the Bengals are not going to make the playoffs so it’s a comical prediction. Partly because it’s Ochocinco who said it and the media likes making him look like a fool.

I like it though. I would be more concerned if a player came out in June and said his team wouldn’t make the playoffs. That’s the beauty of the NFL, it’s a league of parity and all you have to do is look at last year’s Miami Dolphins and Arizona Cardinals to see that anything is possible.

So while I disagree with Ochocinco’s prediction, I admire his optimism and have a few predictions of my own to throw out there.

• The Atlanta Falcons will make the SuperBowl and lose to the New England Patriots.
• This year’s # 1 fantasy football player will be Steven Jackson.
• The Arizona Cardinals will score 60 points in a game.
• The Detroit Lions will improve to win 2 games this year.
• The Denver Broncos will implode, not make the playoffs and end up firing new head coach Josh McDaniels.

In June anything is possible and it took Chad Ochocinco to remind us of that.  Let’s open this week’s Notebook:

• I had doubts about the Brett Favre comeback until I watched his interview on Joe Buck Live this week.  He’s coming back and it’s a bad move for Minnesota to get involved in this.  I feel sorry for Sage Rosenfels who deserves a chance to start in the NFL.  Unfortunately this will play out like a soap opera over the next few months.
• Speaking of Joe Buck Live, I did get a chance to watch the episode that everyone is talking about in which Artie Lange took over the last 10 minutes of the show.  The show turned into a bad Comedy Central Roast which made for a few laughs but more groans.  I cannot fault Lange for anything he did or said, he was trying to be shockingly funny.  I put the blame on Joe Buck for having this train wreck of a show put together without a true vision of what it was supposed to be.  He tried to be funny with comedy bits of looking through a telescope to look into people’s apartments and he booked comedic actors and a raunchy stand up comedian as guests.  It wasn’t funny except for a few minutes of Lange and you should applaud Lange for that and put the blame on Joe Buck.
• It would be nice for the NFL channel to embrace fantasy football and have an actual fantasy football program on a daily basis.  

That’s all we have in this week’s Notebook.  A new internet radio show is archived on the Radio page above.  It was a good show this week as we touched on some running back rankings and found a few potential sleepers.  We are also now on Twitter at www.twitter.com/FantasyF.

JC

The main websites I use for research are the ones listed to the right in the Links section.  These are the websites I go to for information and opinion.  This week I came across an article and it caused me to scratch my head.  The article called out Reggie Wayne.  Yes, the Reggie Wayne that I have ranked #2 on my Wide Receiver cheat sheet.  The article called Wayne “the worst Peyton Manning # 1 wide receiver ever”. 

Hmm.  Harsh words.  So harsh it made me go back and look at Wayne again to make sure I had him properly ranked.  Now I know the statement is a little unfair because it’s basically comparing Marvin Harrison in his prime to Reggie Wayne  currently.  With Harrison off the roster, this is the year for Wayne to be the true # 1 not only on the field but also in the locker room. 

Let’s look at some numbers.   Wayne did have a bit of a down year last year compared to 2007 and that is a concern for a wide receiver now in his 30′s.  His yards were down 300+ and his TD’s were 4 less.  If someone  took Wayne last year high in their draft, I can see why they would be sour.  However, Wayne’s numbers over the last 5 years are stunning.  He has 5 straight seasons over 1,000 yards and 110 consecutive starts.  That’s consistency at a high level.  He also has more yards receiving in the last 5 seasons than anyone else.

I think Wayne is going to have a huge season for an Indianapolis offense that is going to be passing a lot.  So while some columnists are writing articles about Wayne being the worst # 1 wide receiver Peyton Manning has ever had, I think he has been the best #2 wide receiver and primed to be a great # 1 this year.

Let’s open this week’s Notebook:

• I added a new website to my Links section.  It’s called Fantasy Football Calculator and it gives you the ADP ( average draft position ) of players being drafted in fantasy football leagues over the last few days.  For example, over the last 3 days they have looked at the drafts of 613 fantasy leagues and ranked the average draft position for each player.   I think it’s an interesting site to monitor because you can get a feel for how your draft might go.  A few things stand out to me based on these completed drafts so far.  LaDanian Tomlinson’s ADP is # 7.  People are not giving up on him although most of the major website cheat sheets are.  Another interesting thing is that Larry Fitzgerald, Andre Johnson and Randy Moss are all top 12 picks.   That goes against my theory to always draft a Running Back with your first pick no matter what.
• Brandon Marshall is holding out of the Denver Bronco’s mandatory mini camp.  There will be many hold out stories over the next few months.  I don’t get too excited over these things unless it’s mid August and could threaten the start of the season.
• Michael Vick has officially been released by the Falcons which allows him to sign with any team while awaiting word if he will be suspended.  This will start up the “where will Vick go” articles on the major websites which are always good for a yawn.
• The Minnesota Vikings are monitoring Brett Favre’s workouts while Favre’s family are booking hotel rooms in Minnesota.  Another yawn.

Short Notebook this week but check back often for future columns.  We also have 2 internet radio shows in the archives on the Radio page and check out our Store page for a lot of great fantasy football items.

JC

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A caller into our first internet radio show asked a question that a lot of us struggle with if we have a late pick in the first round of our fantasy football drafts.  The caller has the 10th pick in a 14 team league and his concern is that “all the good running backs” will be gone by the 10th pick so he is thinking of selecting a QB at the 10th pick and then picking up a RB with the 19th pick and wanted to know if I thought it was a good idea.

I didn’t think it was a good idea on the radio show and after thinking about it afterwards I still don’t.  A 14 team league is a deep league and the running back position is already going to be spread thin with a total of 28 running backs starting each week.  Running backs are the key to fantasy football and you can’t be successful without consistent production from each of your starters. 

If I was in his shoes, I would be thinking RB at  his 10th pick and 19th pick as he would have the chance to start two top 20 running backs each week and many teams in his league won’t be able to do that.  Quarterbacks can be picked up in the middle rounds and you will still get a top 14 quarterback.  Balance and depth is the key, especially in these deep leagues.  I know it can be stressful to watch all the running backs come off the board so fast in these drafts, that just tells you how important the position is.

Now let’s open this week’s Notebook:

• Philadelphia running back Brian Westbrook is now Questionable for the start of training camp because he is undergoing ankle surgery.  It has to be frustrating for Eagles fans to have this done in June at the end of the off season.  I wasn’t high on Westbrook this year, I had him ranked lower than most at #12 in the RB rankings.  This certainly doesn’t help.  I view this as significant enough to update my Running Back rankings and I moved Westbrook from #12 to 16, no longer is he a #1 running back.  That also means that his back up, rookie LeSean McCoy, enters the top 50 at # 48.
• Word out of Chicago is that Matt Forte had a slight injury and is having a MRI test.  Right now it doesn’t appear serious. 
• Cleveland head coach Eric Mangini says the starting QB position is up for grabs between Brady Quinn and Derek Anderson.  They call Mangini the “genius” but I don’t see it after the way he let the Jets team crumble behind an ineffective Brett Favre last year.  I would be shocked if Brady Quinn isn’t starting week 1.
• Matt Hasselbeck has been “looking good” in recent practices.  I always love these type of stories because I can never find the ones about players looking bad.  I do believe Hasselbeck can have a really good year.  7 of his first 13 games are against the defenses of Arizona, San Francisco, St. Louis and Detroit.  If healthy, Hasselbeck could be a steal this year.

That’s it for this week’s Notebook.  I am going to do another internet radio show today at 2pm EST as the last show ended way too early.  You can listen live by clicking on the Blog Talk Radio button on the side of this page or archived shows on the Radio page of this site.

JC

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I decided to take a brief break from my fantasy football research and attend a minor league baseball game this week. I love baseball  and it had been close to two years since I last attended a game. The Atlanta Braves moved their AAA team about 10 miles from my home so I really have no excuse for not going to more games. It was a drizzly night and I took my seat in section 121 which I had all to myself. I was ready to relax and enjoy a nice game.

The first pitch was fouled back into the stands which the announcer stated that any foul, excuse me “fowl”, ball entering the stands could be brought to the Chick-Fil-A customer service station and exchanged for a coupon for a free chicken sandwich. Over the next three hours, there were about 40 foul balls and he reminded us of that every single time. That first batter ended up striking out which the announcer informed us that the strikeout was brought to us by Atlanta Gas which is known for “bringing the heat”. Unfortunately there ended up being 22 strike outs in the game and yes, all were brought to us by Atlanta Gas.

During the inning breaks we were reminded by our announcer that we could purchase the Pepsi family fun packs which are 4 tickets for 40 bucks. In the 3rd inning I had trouble seeing the field because I, still sitting alone in section 121, was surrounded by 3 vendors. The first wanted to sell me cotton candy in which I passed because I am over 12. The second wanted to sell me a can of beer for 6.50 courtesy of Miller Lite. The third was selling programs for 15 dollars which included 5 Braves Bucks that could be used in the gift shop.

Since I couldn’t see the field I looked up at the jumbotron and saw the manager scratching and picking around his nose and wondered if that was going to be brought to us courtesy of Clariton but I guess their sales people hadn’t sold that nose pick, at least not yet. When the ground ball went through the shortstop’s legs, I wondered if that error was brought to us by Bank of America. I used the restroom in the 6th inning that could have also been sponsored by Atlanta Gas or even  Taco Bell but their sales people dropped the ball on that sponsorship. 

 I don’t remember things being so commercialized when I was a kid going to these games. It’s sad but then again I am no better with this website. In an effort to break even on the costs of this site, I have to run ads. So, not only do you get our free cheat sheets and all that cool  stuff, you also get the ability to find your future spouse courtesy of match.com or your credit score from Equifax. Not only can you read about fantasy football and link to other fantasy football sites, you can also stop by our STORE page and buy something from Amazon or tickets from Ticketmaster or Stub Hub. I guess that’s the way it is these days but sometimes I wish things were less commercialized although if one of those vendors were selling ear plugs, they would have made a sale.

 Let’s open this weeks Notebook.

The Notebook:

• I have read the stories this week regarding the pit bull attack in the home of Steeler’s James Harrison that severely injured his 2 year old baby as well as his mother and another person in the home.  It’s sad, no question about that but this article on Espn.com alarmed me.   The agent for Harrison talks about the incident and is quoted as saying “There is no reason to believe that this is anything other than something that sometimes happens to children”.   Excuse me?  I know lots of people with children and I don’t know anyone who has had their child attacked by a pit bull in their home.  I don’t get this fascination with pit bulls that some NFL players seem to have.  On Wednesday I heard Hines Ward, who I think is great, on 680 The Fan in Atlanta talk about how this is the 3rd attack by a pit bull in recent years to someone in the Steeler’s family.  That’s just sad and possibly criminal.  I hope I don’t read any more stories like this.
• All eyes were on New England this week as Tom Brady was on the practice field.  I hope he proves me wrong but I am still convinced there will be a drop off in production from Brady this year and it amazes me that the Patriots have not signed a veteran back up.
• I am in the process of compiling the running back rankings and the one person who many have written off  but I am not so sure of is LaDanian Tomlinson.  He is going to be ranked somewhere between 8 and 20, I am still trying to figure it out.
• As much as he has burned me in the past two years, could Steven Jackson be a top 5 running back this year?  He has the tools.
• CBS has the results of their first mock draft up and I was surprised DeAngelo Williams went 6th. 

Notebook is closed and check back as we should have the running back rankings up very soon.

JC

Memorial Day Weekend, the official start of the summer season, and Fantasy Football is starting to creep up on us.  Between now and Labor Day, there will be mini camps, holdouts, preseason injuries, cuts, signings, arrests and position battles.  We’ll have our mock drafts and our real drafts.  It’s starting to become the busy time of year when we decide how many leagues to join, what type of leagues, what websites to play on and what websites to get information from.  Here at the F-F-F, ( fantasy-football-first.com ) we hope that you will stop by every now and then and check out our rankings, columns and features.  You can keep up to date with our site by utilizing our widget to the right and check back often as we are developing this site daily.   Let’s open this week’s Notebook.

The Notebook:

• Michael Vick has been the number 1 story on Espn this week.  The thing that I don’t get is  nobody other than Espn really cares about this story.  No one is talking about it, it’s not even on the Google Trends list.  Espn is writing stories on what teams might be interested in Vick for this season.  Not one team has expressed an interest and I don’t see a bidding war developing.  Atlanta owns his rights and will most likely end up cutting him.  If a team does sign Vick, not only will they have to do deal with the Espn circus, but then they know Vick will be suspended for at least 4 games.  Too much baggage.  From a fantasy football prospective he has no value for this season.  Take him off any draft board even in keeper leagues.
• Reports out of New England says that the injury of Tom Brady is not an issue and that he is a “full go” according to the SportingNews.  Also out of New England this week, we learned that Laurence Maroney had a broken bone in his shoulder last season.  You will never get a straight answer out of New England and I have Brady ranked lower than any other website at this point ( currently at # 7 ) and I am not moving him up until I see video of him on the field and not on TMZ.  If I see how he is moving at mini camp ( I bet we won’t see him ) or in the preseason ( not a chance ) , I’ll re evaluate the ranking but until then something smells fishy in New England and it’s not the clam chowder.
• Espn has an interesting article up where they list the 7 QB battles to be decided between now and Week 1.  I think it’s safe to say that not one of these teams are playoff bound in my eyes but here are my Memorial Day predictions for these QB battles.  JaMarcus Russell over Jeff Garcia in Oakland. Sage Rosenfels over Tavaris Jackson in Minnesota.  Matthew Stafford over Daunte Culpepper in Detroit if they are smart.  Mark Sanchez over Kellen Clemons in New York and Brady Quinn over Derek Anderson in Cleveland.  I have no idea about the QB situation in San Francisco and Tampa Bay.  I guess that’s why we have the preseason. 
• Have a happy and safe Memorial Day.

Notebook is closed.

JC