Fantasy Football Dispute No. 2602: SportsJudge.com Orders "King Solomon" Split of Championship Bracket

SPORTSJUDGE.COM

COURT OF FANTASY FOOTBALL

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -	X	Index No. 2602 Date: December, 11 2008 League Type: H-2-H FOOTBALL Dispute: RULES DISPUTE Judge: MARC EDELMAN COURT ORDERS THAT THE LEAGUE PLAYOFF BRACKET SHALL BE SPLIT INTO TWO SEPARATE BRACKETS, EACH FUNDED WITH 50% OF THE PRIZE MONEY.
DOUG M. Petitioner, - against - ADAM S. Respondent	: : : : : : : : : :
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BACKGROUND

Petitioner Doug M. and Respondent Adam S. are competitors in the Bring Back Favre Keepers League, a head-to-head fantasy football league that is hosted by the CBS Sports “Commissioner” service. The league only has a rudimentary constitution, which was created using a CBS Sports template. However, the league involves a significant amount of money. The league entry fee is $175 per team, with prize payouts of $1400 to the league champion, $350 for the runner-up, and $220 for the team with the best regular season record.

Last weekend, Doug M. and Adam S.’s teams met in the first round of the bracketed playoff tournament. Astoundingly, the game ended in a tie. The league is now unsure of how to proceed.

Heading into last week’s games, Adam S.’s team had a better regular-season record, but Doug M.’s team had more points. Both argue on those grounds that there team should advance into the next round.

This court took jurisdiction to address the following two questions:

1. Is there are written agreement that determines which of these two teams shall advance into the next round of the playoffs?

2. If there is no written agreement on this issue, what is the fairest way to proceed?

ANALYSIS

I. Is There a Written Agreement about which Team Should Advance?

The first issue for the court to consider is whether there is a written agreement that determines which team should advance. The starting point (and ending point) for this review is always the language in the league constitution. (See Tom L. v. Commissioner, Index N. 2305, Oct. 29, 2008). However, here, all that exists is a very rudimentary constitution, created in conjunction with the CBS Sports Commissioner service. The only language in the constitution with respect to breaking ties states as follows: “"Ties in the standings are resolved in this order: Winning Percentage, Total Points."

I invited both parties to brief the issue about whether this clause is intended to apply to ties in a game, as well as to ties in overall record. Neither party chose to brief the issue. This court – upon its own best judgment – therefore concludes that the plain meaning of the text applies only to standings, and does not apply to deciding a single game. Hence, the writing in the league constitution does not address which team shall advance into round two of the playoffs.

II. Given the Constitution is Silent, What is the Fairest Way to Proceed?

Given the league constitution is silent on what team shall advance in the playoffs, this court next turns to equitable principles, and including custom, usage, past dealings, and, if necessary, the cy pres doctrine.

1. Custom, Usage and Past Dealings
   

As a general matter, when a contract is silent on any particular issue, a court turns to custom, usage and past dealing to determine what serves as the best default provision. (See Tom L. v. Commissioner, Index N. 2305, Oct. 29, 2008). In other words, the next question for this court to consider is what serves as the standard practice in the fantasy sports marketplace for breaking playoff ties.

Upon the court’s review, it takes judicial notice to the fact that both custom and usage on this issue are mixed throughout the fantasy sports. According to games hosted by ESPN, “in the event that two teams have the same number of points at the conclusion of their playoff game, the system tiebreaker awards the win to the higher seeded team.” (www.espn.com). According to Yahoo, the first tie breaker is “most touchdowns scored by entire starting roster.” (www.yahoo.com). Meanwhile, in CBS Money Leagues – a distinctly different product, with a distinctly different Constitution from CBS Commissioner Leagues – the team with the most combined passing, rushing and receiving yards proceeds to the next round. (http://football.sportsline.com/splash/football/spln/single/rules). Furthermore, a brief survey of my colleagues shared with me the wide range of tie-breakers they use in their leagues (playoff bench scoring, regular season winning percentage, regular season points, coin toss).

This all goes to tell you is that there us no standard custom, usage, or past dealing for the court to reply upon. Further, to adopt any one of these three standards to resolve a past event would be wholly arbitrary. Irrespective of what standard this court chooses, it clearly would not represent the parties’ spoken, or even latent, intent.

2. Cy Pres Doctrine

Given custom, usage, and past dealings each provide little guidance, the court has no alternative but to shift next to the doctrine of cy pres. The doctrine of cy pres means that the court recognizes that there is no perfect solution, and therefore it will adopt a solution that is as close as possible to the parties’ interests, goals and intent.

While so much of fantasy football is about competing against friends, this particular league is also clearly about money (a $175 is a real investment). With that it mind, the court recognizes that any cy pres remedy should be one that closest approximately the reasonable monetary expectations of each party based on the actual performance of the teams in round one of the playoffs.

While Israel’s great King Solomon once decided that splitting a baby is not the right way to resolve a dispute over the baby’s true mother, here the court concludes (sincerely no less) splitting a playoff bracket into two solves the problem just fine. Unlike a baby, a bracket is not alive. Two playoff brackets therefore can thrive alongside one another.

Therefore, rather than arbitrarily picking one to advance between Doug M. and Adam S., this court rules the fantasy bracket shall be split into two – “Bracket A” and “Bracket B”. Both brackets shall be absolutely identical to one another in all respects, except that Doug M. advances in Bracket A, and Adam S. advances in Bracket B. The prize money for the winner of Bracket A shall be $700 to the league champion, and $175 to the runner-up. The same shall be true for Bracket B. Indeed, a single owner can, and probably will, win both brackets. In that case, that owner collects the full $1400. However, based on this setup, neither Doug M. nor Adam S. is eligible to win more than $700. This is the mathematically proper outcome, and a fair one to boot. (Indeed, should Doug M. and Adam S. both lose this week, the brackets again become identical and merge back into one).

This solution is completely fair for not only to Doug M. and Adam S., but also for all remaining playoff teams. Indeed, for the team that is forced to play Doug M. and Adam S. simultaneously this week, there is no disadvantage to doing so. In fact, that team is better hedged against risk because even if that team were to lose to one of its two opponents under the split-bracket format, that owner remains in the running for $700 of prize money in the other bracket.

Furthermore, even though this solution leads to one more team using the waiver wire in the upcoming weeks, the court finds this effect de minimis, especially since it has already instructed Doug M. and Adam S. to continue using the waiver wire all week.

Finally, setting up two brackets and keeping track of the results may at first sound a bit confusing to any league commissioner. Therefore, if you are not sure how to do so, please send me your current playoff bracket with the teams that remain, and I will provide you with the duel bracket to use moving forward.

CONCLUSION

For the foregoing reasons, this court orders the Bring Back Favre Keepers League playoff bracket shall be split into two playoff brackets “A” and “B,” with equal prize money funded to each bracket. All playoff teams shall be seeded identically in both brackets and shall be entitled to win all prize money from both brackets, except Doug M. shall be seeded only in “Bracket A” and Adam S. shall be seeded only in “Bracket B.”

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Fantasy Football Dispute No. 2306-T: SportsJudge.com Rejects Proposed Trade of Brian Westbrook for Several Reserves

SPORTSJUDGE.COM

COURT OF FANTASY FOOTBALL

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -	X	Index No. 2306-T Date: October 30, 2008 League Type: 12 TEAM H-TO-H LEAGUE Dispute: TRADE DISPUTE Judge: MARC EDELMAN COURT OF FANTASY FOOTBALL REJECTS TO PROPOSED TRADE IN ITS ENTIRETY
WICKED THREADZ FANTASY FOOTBALL LEAGUE Petitioner, - against - REAL MEN OF GENIUS & EXPRESS Respondent	: : : : : : : : : :
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Petitioner, The Wicked Threadz Fantasy Football League, brings this claim in the Court of Fantasy Football, seeking to overturn the trade of Brian Westbrook (RB-Eagles) and the Tennessee Defense from Real Men of Genius to Express in exchange for Ryan Torain (RB-Broncos), Jonathan Stewart (RB-Panthers), Tory Holt (WR-Rams) and Mushin Muhammad (WR-Panthers).

This court fully overturns this trade. The court further rejects the commissioner’s proposed alterative trade.

The Law on Upholding a Trade

This question of when a fantasy sports arbitrator should intervene to overturn a trade is extremely tricky. On one hand, a major part of the fun of fantasy sports involves making trades and taking risks. The minute an outside party steps into the shoes and takes away the right of an individual fantasy team owner to make his own choices, a big part of the game’s fun is lost. However, on the other hand, if an arbitrator approved every single possible trade without regard to the ethical underpinnings of the deal or its impact on the integrity of the league overall, fantasy sports "would deteriorate into nothing more than a collection of near-Ponzi schemes of side dealing, trickery, and deceit." (See Commissioner v. Teams A, B. C & D, Docket No. 1443 (C) (Sept. 9, 2008)). If that were to happen, owners would also lose interest in fantasy sports. This result would be equally problematic.

To allow individual leagues the maximum deference in setting their own criteria for trade approval, SportsJudge.com maintains a policy of first turning to a given league’s constitution to provide guidance about when it should overturn a trade. (See Public Opinion No. 409-T, Commissioner P.K. v. Cartman). Leagues from around the country have adopted a wide range of different language to instruct our court. Some leagues request that SportsJudge.com uphold any trade so long as there is no actual finding of collusion (this standard has led to almost a 100% trade approval rate). Other leagues request that SportsJudge.com reject any trade where there even is the slightest argument of inequality (this leads has led to under a 30% trade approval rate).

Where a fantasy sports league fails to provide SportsJudge.com with a constitutional standard about when to overrule a trade, the SportsJudge.com court becomes forced to apply our default rule. This default rule states that “any fantasy baseball trade shall be upheld as long as the trade adequately benefits both teams.” (See Public Opinion No. 101, Big Red Rockers v. Big City Bombers).

SportsJudge.com arbitrators have long interpreted this rule to mean that a trade shall be upheld as long as there is a reasonable basis that both teams would benefit. Historically, SportsJudge.com have upheld close to 90% of all submitted trades when using this standard.

The Proposed Trade

The proposed trade is a 4-for-2. Express proposes to send to Real Men of Genius:

Player	Preseason Rotowire.com Rank	Current Actual Yahoo! Rank	Wicked Threadz Draft Position
Ryan Torain – RB	Not in Top 150	1692	Not Drafted
Jonathan Stewart -- RB	55	68	47
Tory Holt -- WR	35	181	26
Muhsin Muhammad -- WR	Not in Top 150	72	175

Real Men of Genius proposes to send Express:

Player	Preseason Rotowire.com Rank	Current Actual Yahoo! Rank (based on averages)	Wicked Threadz Draft Position
Michael Westbrook – RB	6	1	3
Tennessee Defense	Not Ranked	63 (third amongst defenses)	Not Drafted

Trade Analysis

Applying the review standard that considers whether this trade adequately benefits both teams, this court does not require that a trade be even; merely that both teams have a reasonable chance of benefiting. Essentially, this requires a level of good faith by all parties involved. It does not come nearly as far as requiring equality.

There is no doubt that Real Men of Genius benefits immensely from acquiring statistically one of the best running backs (Westbrook) and best defenses (Tennessee) in fantasy football this season.

However, unless Westbrook gets injured (and there is no reason to presume that event), there is less than an angstrom of chance that Express would ultimately benefit. Without the proposed trade, Express logically would be expected to start the following players at the applicable for the remainder of the season (factoring in teams that have bye weeks to remainder of the way, and presuming that Larry Johnson misses the rest of the season with a suspension -- a presumption that looks at the trade in its most favorable light):

Position	Week 9	Week 10	Rest of the Way
WR – 1	Roddy White	Roddy White	Roddy White
WR –2	Santonio Holmes	Santonio Holmes	Santonio Holmes
RB – 1	Jamal Lewis	Jamal Lewis	Jamal Lewis
RB – 2	Brian Westbrook	Brian Westbrook	Brian Westbrook
FLEX	Randle El	Henderson	Randle El or Henderson
Defense	Tennessee	Tennessee	Tennessee

After the trade, however, Express instead would start this team:

Position	Week 9	Week 10	Rest of the Way
WR – 1	White	White	White
WR –2	Holmes	Holmes	Holmes
RB – 1	Lewis	Lewis	Lewis
RB – 2	Torain	Stewart	Stewart
FLEX	Holt	Holt or Muhammad	Holt or Muhammad
Defense	WAIVER PICK	WAIVER PICK	WAIVER PICK

Stated otherwise, by making this trade, Express assumes a gaping hole at defense and a substantially weaker running back, while gaining little elsewhere. Even in terms of depth, any gains for Express are questionable. Two of the players that Express acquired are amongst the less than 33% of players in the league that still have their bye weeks lying ahead.

In addition, if you tabulate starting lineups based on average points per week thus far this season (and indeed, that is an imperfect method of projection), this trade will yield Express on average an astounding 15.54 point drop per week.

Old Player	Likely New Player	Average Difference Per Week
Westbrook (20.92)	Stewart (8.31)	Loss of 12.61 points/week
Tennessee (10.50)	Seattle (6.50)	Loss of 4.00 points/week
Holmes (8.59)	Muhammad (9.66)	Gain of 0.93 points/week
		Loss of 15.54 points/week

With that said, there is absolutely no good faith argument that this trade could reasonably benefit Express. This trade is problematic from every possible angle.

The Commissioner’s Proposed Compromise

The second issue this court must discuss is the viability of the Wicked Threadz Fantasy League Commissioner’s good faith effort to produce a compromise solution that would allow for a more reasonable version of this trade. The Commissioner here has suggested removing the Tennessee Defense from the deal and approving this trade as a four-for-one. However, this compromise does not seem to solve the problem, nor is it permissible pursuant to the SportsJudge.com default rules.

While I commend the league commissioner for attempting to play Henry Clay, unless a league constitution explicitly gives a league commissioner power to involve himself in a trade, the commissioner does not have the right do so. While there is no doubt the commissioner had only the best intentions in mind, allowing him to intermingle himself in a trade produces too high risks that the commissioner will substitute his own self-interest for the needs of the respective teams.

In addition, allowing such a remedy encourages teams to propose the most uneven trades imaginable—knowing that if they are seen as too unfair the commissioner would just fix them. Ultimately, it could put the commissioner in the inevitable position of consistently needing to rework trades.

Final Thought

As a final thought, I wish to turn attention now to a comment on the message board from the owner of Real Men of Genius:

Re: some thoughts

Posted by: timmaaay40 (Real Men of Genius)

Message ID: 631 Oct 28 12:24am | Reply | Post | <> | Next >

To [Another Team Owner]: I don't think its (sic) my responsibility not to [rip off] people. If they let it happen then its (sic) their fault not mine. You dont (sic) always have to give something good to get something better. The integrity of this league is still there.

Based upon the SportsJudge.com default rules, that statement is not accurate. While there is nothing wrong with a team making a trade that benefits them far more than their trade partner, our default rules will not allow a trade that does not even lead to a reasonable possibility that both parties would benefit.

If you wish if the future for SportsJudge.com to take a more hands-off approach to trades, you should write that standard directly into the league constitution for next season. That obviously, however, is an issue for you to discuss with your league mates.

Conclusion

For the foregoing reason, the commissioner rejects the proposed trade in its entirety.

NCAA Fantasy Finals: Keep the stat-quo or make some changes?

This is it. Do or die. After blowing out my opponent by over 50 points last week, I have made it to the finals. I am competing for bragging rights, for pride, and for the (metaphorical) trophy. I am up against the team that had handed me my only loss on the season, and this being my first time making it to the finals, I am a little hesitant about making any moves on my roster. After debating with myself, I hoped there’s not much to do now but set my lineup, eat some turkey, and wait for the games to start. Or so I thought.

Eating turkey and waiting for the games to start was the easy part. Setting my lineup, not so much. Turns out my two stud QBs, Joe Webb and Kellen Moore will both face tough opponents this weekend. Moore and Boise State will face a Nevada team that is 7-0 in the WAC, and has won 8 straight games. Moore must show up big or risk losing not only the conference championship, but a BCS bid as well. On the other hand, Joe Webb tries to log one last W that would bring UAB to a bowl-eligible 6-6. This would be so much easier, if I could pick up Trevor Harris out of D-II Edinboro, who went 50 of 76 for 630yds and 7TDs (2 rushing)…in only his second game back from knee surgery. But because I couldn’t be so lucky, and because of the rushing and passing potential, I am going to stick with Webb. This should make for an interesting fantasy matchup, seeing as my opponent is starting Case Keenum, making this a battle of the top-2 fantasy players of 2009.

I had to do a bit of work on my team in other areas, seeing as both James Cleveland and Naaman Roosevelt, two of the top-15 WRs in the nation are at best questionable this weekend. Averaging over 8 receptions per game, if Cleveland is listed as injured, it will surely hurt my productivity this week. This, along with early reports stating Roosevelt will not be playing on Friday night, cause some concern. In order to quash that, I dropped Roosevelt and was somehow able to pick up Dexter McCluster from Ole Miss.

What’s great about McCluster, is the fact that he’s a RB listed as a WR, and only needs 97yds against Mississippi State in order to eclipse the 1,000yds on the season, making him the sixth-best fantasy WR in the nation. Chances are, you won’t get as lucky as I did, seeing as he is started in 90% of leagues, and owned in 94% on CBS. Starting Golden Tate and Danario Alexander, and with the addition of McCluster, my starting WRs make up three of the top-6 WRs in the nation. Hopefully this will ensure victory and year-long bragging rights.

Unfortunately, my backfield is in a similar position. Top-10 RB Bernard Pierce, who has been extremely productive averaging over 20FPts for 2009, will sit out as Temple plays Ohio for the MAC East title. Additionally, even though Darius Marshall will be back after sitting out last week with a knee injury, the Thundering Herd showed that they had plenty of depth at RB and would play the man with the hottest hand. This makes starting Marshall a risky move. In order to avoid such a risk, I dropped Pierce and picked up Frank Goodin out of Louisiana-Monroe. I have mentioned Goodin several times this season, and finally have the chance to utilize his talents, albeit in the last fantasy matchup of the season. If any of you need assistance at RB, Goodin is the way to go since he is owned in only 6% of leagues.

This is the season to be thankful, and I sure am thankful for college football, the internet, and thus, NCAA Fantasy football. Lets hope I can be thankful through the offseason. Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Lies, Damned Lies, and Disastrous Teams

Author's note: I had the opportunity to speak with NFL All-Pro linebacker Karl Mecklenburg recently about his new book and his playing career which was highlighted by three trips to the Super Bowl with the Broncos and six appearances in the Pro Bowl. Along with some fascinating stories about what it's like at an NFL training camp and an honest discussion of the pressures of being a professional athlete, the Broncos great articulates how a commitment to athletics can positively shape a person in the book, Heart of a Student Athlete. Check out the book here and Mecklenburg's website here. My interview with Karl and full review of the book will be posted here next Friday.

15 and 57. That's the combined record of the last place teams across every division in the NFL through week ten. Peyton Manning and Tom Brady sure are great, but train wrecks and systemic dysfunction is far more interesting.

The jarring 15-57 mark which amounts to a .208 winning percentage is represented collectively by, brace yourself: the Redskins, Lions, Rams, Buccaneers, Bills, Browns, Titans and Raiders. Re-read that and try not to cringe. The Titans, at 3-6, seem to be the red herring of that bunch coming off an NFL best 13-3 record last year. Maybe they're just a victim of a brutal opening schedule, but to quote Bill Parcells: you are what your record says you are. That goes for the Jets and head coach Rex Ryan too, who said after the Jets week eight loss to the Dolphins: "I think our record should be better than what it is right now." Well, I think that I should be the ruler of a chocolate kingdom where there are no bills to pay, videos of kittens playing pianos repeat on loop on giant billboards across the land, and Tyra Banks is not allowed to speak. Model, but not speak.

Ryan's remarks from the same conference included this one too: "Statistically, this game isn't going to look close." He's right (you may recall that Tedd Ginn scored two special teams touchdowns that game). The Jets wrecked the Fins on the stat sheet but unfortunately Ryan is the one coaching the team and the rest of us are yelling at the TV and playing fantasy football. Statistics don't tell the whole story, or even part of the story. After all, the Chiefs aren't even among the eight division doormats that my own silly metric scooped up.

Now brace yourself again: the un-elite eight have been outscored by their opponents by a combined 712 points so far. That's over 100 touchdowns, 200+ field goals or 356 two-point conversations. In other words, $!@$!!!

By comparison, the bottom eight last year, anchored by the 0-16 Lions and the 2-14 Chiefs and Rams, combined for a .281 win percentage. The dregs of the league this year are actually outpacing them. There's also a 37 percent chance that I'll get to the point in the following paragraph.

The bad teams this year, as a whole, just feel worse. They seem utterly hopeless and usually devoid of any spirit. It's so bad in Cleveland that the team's owner, Randy Lerner, actually met with two fans (the leaders of the Browns' Dawg Pound) to discuss their concerns about the state of the team because the fans threatened to stage a protest at the beginning of their Monday Night Football "contest" earlier this week. Lerner's meeting was a nice gesture, I guess, but it's just bizarre. As for the game, it got so bad that the ESPN analysts, who sometimes inject false suspense into their MNF broadcasts--I suppose because they have to--were unabashedly critical of the mostly unwatchable Browns. It was like a terrible movie that becomes watchable only when you stop trying to like it and make fun of it instead. The Browns were shut out 16-0 by the Ravens and collected only 160 yards of total offense.

Nearby, Bills fans don't know whether to travel to the team's "home" game in Toronto against the Jets in December for fear that it might support the notion that Toronto is a better home for the Bills. Owner Ralph Wilson Jr. just fired head coach Dick Jauron who led the Bills to three consecutive 7-9 finishes and a 3-6 mark so far this year. And earlier this year, Bills management all but conceded that they brought in Terrell Owens to get some publicity and sell tickets. Isn't the point to win games?

So here's the one statistic that the geeks don't tabulate and couldn't accurately measure if they tried: just how much it must stink to be a fan of one of these awful teams right now. Many of them have been perennial losers for a while now (the Lions). Some are not accustomed to this type of thing. Whatever the case, these fans don't need algorithms or charts telling them that their teams stink. For the most part, they already know.

With that in mind, I'm throwing statistics out the window from for the remainder of this article. And that takes us back to some quotes--eight in total, one for each team, taken from a sports film--to capture a bit of humor in each of the respective disaster seasons. The fans have got to laugh because if they don't laugh, they're going to cry, or punch holes in the wall, and the value of homes in Detroit has fallen enough already.

Your NFC representatives:

Washington: Remember Danny - two wrongs don't make a right but three rights make a left. (Caddyshack)

Billionaire owner Daniel Snyder has thrown money at every apparent problem. I applaud his willingness to spend the money to bring in talent. But it hasn't worked, because it just doesn't work that way. Snyder may as well light his money on fire at this point. At least he has plenty of it. The reclusive Snyder actually came out and expressed remorse about the state of the dysfunction this year during the bye week, while a famous Redskin, John Riggins, has put out Youtube videos blasting Snyder and lame duck head coach Jim Zorn. Weird, right? Although to the Redskins credit, they did beat the Broncos last week.

Detroit: The most important thing to remember is: to protect your quarterback - ME! (The Longest Yard)

Rest assured, the Lions offensive linemen already know this. If they can keep him upright, Matthew Stafford will continue to get valuable experience. Hopefully better things are ahead. If not, at least Stafford got a contract with a lot of guaranteed money.

Tampa Bay: Have you ever gotten the feeling that you aren’t completely embarrassed yet, but you glimpse tomorrow’s embarrassment? (Jerry Maguire)

Try to find two more wins on the Bucs remaining schedule: New Orleans; at Atlanta; at Carolina; New York (Jets); at Seattle; at New Orleans; Atlanta. But let's face it, who doesn't like creamscicle colored uniforms?

St. Louis: We're in hell right now gentlemen. Believe me. And we can stay here, get the (bleep) kicked out of us, or we can fight our way back into the light. We can climb outta hell... one inch at a time. (Any Given Sunday)

That line really isn't that "funny", but how could I not include it? These Rams at least have some fight in them and gave the undefeated Saints a scare last week. Down five with 2:21 remaining, the Rams drove from their own 20 to the Saints 31 and had a shot at the end zone for a stunning 29-28 upset with time expiring.

And the representatives of the AFC:

Buffalo: You don't think as a team, you don't play as a team, you don't even LOSE as a team! (Angels in the Outfield)

Needless to say, Coach Jauron had lost the ear of the team. Maybe it's time to bring back J.P. Losman, currently the starting QB for the UFL's Las Vegas Locomotives.

Cleveland: Good crowd out there tonight, boys, let's really try to win this one. (Slap Shot)

ESPN and the NFL need some sort of flex-scheduling for Monday Night Football to prevent another game featuring a 1-8 squad. But I'm not going to beat this one to death (if I haven't already). Tempting, but I won't. It's just a perfect storm of disaster. Somewhere in Cleveland there's a college senior writing a thesis about this Browns season. This was probably the only team in the league that didn't want to play on national television.

Tennessee: In case you haven't noticed — and, judging by the attendance, you haven't — the Indians have managed to win a few here and there and are threatening to climb out of the cellar. (Major League)

However even if the Titans win out and finish 10-6, it might not be good enough to secure a playoff spot. Probably won't happen though. In any event, as long as 86 year-old owner Bud Adams continues to wave double-barreled middle fingers from a box towards opposing teams' fans, the price of admission is worth every penny.

Oakland: This quitting thing, it's a hard habit to break once you start. (Bad News Bears)

That about sums up the 2009 Raiders. Although, the JaMarcus Russell experiment appears to be over. Somewhere, John Madden, Mike Shanahan and John Gruden are shaking their heads. Stay tuned!

Check back in here every Friday around lunchtime where Brett Smiley will fill you in on everything in the world of sports and fantasy sports from the bizarre to the practical to the relatively unimportant.

Round 1: NCAA Fantasy Playoffs

The offseason always seems to creep by at a nearly unbearable pace as we all yearn for the football season to begin. Come summertime, we start to get anxious; we start reading scouting reports, discussing Heisman probabilities, and drooling over the fantasy dream-team we hope to put together. Once Week 1 comes around, we get excited, we pull out our game-day jerseys, our lucky hats, and schedule our “honey-do” days around which games we must watch. But now, we are at that point in the season where things are coming to an end – which means the fantasy playoffs are just beginning.

If you’ve made it into the playoffs, you either (a) know what you’re doing, or (b) you’ve found some luck along the way. Even if you and lady luck have had a couple of nice "outings", you are the one who picked up players, you are the one who set your lineup, you are the one who now controls his/her own destiny. On that note, there’s not much I can suggest, other than two “rules of thumb” that I live by, if and when I make it into the playoffs.

1. “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”
Throughout the season, I have tried to give you new players to look out for every week. As a result, my team has become synonymous with “revolving door”, dropping one just to pick up the next hottest guy. In NCAA fantasy, it is much easier to find the next big thing. But not this time of year. Stick with what works. Trust your gut.

My gut tells me Joe Webb will continue his hot streak this week against East Carolina. Even though Kellen Moore and Boise State play 3-7 Utah State, Webb’s ability to throw and run have proven to be valuable to my success.

2. Beware of the schedule
Unlike in the NFL, some schools still have Bye weeks. For example, Cincinnati, Pitt, and Idaho all have the week off. As a result, Mardy Gilyard (930yds rec, 8TDs, 135FPts), Dorin Dickerson (top fantasy TE in 2009), and Max Komar (926yds rec., 8TDs, 137FPts in 2009) will all have to be replaced.

With Gilyard on my squad, this is something I had to be aware of. I will play Golden Tate, Danario Alexander, and James Cleveland. Alexander has recorded 200yds receiving the past two weeks, and is one of the top 3 WRs in the nation along with Tate. Cleveland is stud/QB Case Keenum’s favorite target, and despite on recording 88yds last week, he will get the start. Houston plays a 2-8 Memphis squad that Joe Webb demolished with 378yds passing last week, so it looks as if Keenum and Cleveland will have a field day.

All-in-all, if you’ve made it this far, you’re doing well. Keep it up. Just make sure you don’t blow it by thinking too much and not trusting your gut, or not thinking at all by failing to pay attention to obvious factors such as a scheduling conflict. Good luck this week. I’ll let you know if I survived.