Letter to the Sky

Whenever “stunning” details come out about a political scandal or any kind of shocking event, the cynics say they saw it coming. I don’t doubt them either. Have you ever seen the classic HBO series The Wire? Well, if you haven’t, the show is praised for its authenticity and dedication to realism, and it portrays some serious corruption and ignorance by police and government. So naturally, after watching The Wire, I’ve tended to doubt the sincerity of “heartfelt apologies” or “firm denials” when they get shoved in my face. Of course, thinking with that frame of mind doesn’t exactly make you a beacon of joy and positivity. It’s as Rust Cohle (played by the phenomenal Matthew McConaughey) in another HBO hit, True Detective, when defining pessimism: “It means I’m bad at parties.” Now, pessimism isn’t the same as cynicism, but the quote works either way. 

This may contradict what I let on about myself in the above paragraph, but I truly don’t consider myself a cynic (and no, I don’t believe that all cynical thinkers are bad at parties). Yeah, I may be a skeptic when it comes to believing every word that comes out of a politician’s mouth, but who does take everything a government official says as fact? I do, however, adamantly dislike those who automatically dismiss any attempt by a public figure at a sincere or lighthearted gesture as a publicity stunt, PR move, or “covering his/her own behind”. Though I’m sure there are plenty of instances where this has been the case (I’m looking at you, Lance Armstrong), I just don’t see the point in greeting any humanizing action by a public figure with suspicion of an ulterior motive.

Frank Ocean could very well be the most talented singer-songwriter actively making music right now. That’s not just my unfounded opinion, either. The 26-year-old artist from New Orleans has released two albums, nostalgia, ULTRA and channel ORANGE, to widespread critical acclaim, won a Grammy for Best Urban Contemporary Album (as well as Best Rap/Sung Collaboration for his part in the Jay-Z/Kanye West song “No Church in the Wild”), and can claim near-universal respect among his peers (Don Henley of the Eagles despises Ocean after the latter stole the entire “Hotel California” track for the scintillating “American Wedding”, which is on nostalgia, ULTRA, and Chris Brown got into an altercation with Ocean over a parking spot. Yes, you read that right. A parking spot). Ocean possesses one of the sweetest-sounding voices in R&B (he describes himself as “a baritone, with tenor moments”, if that helps at all), was the primary musical composer for his most recent album, channel ORANGE, and he’s basically the Pablo Picasso of songwriting. I’m not just name-dropping a famous painter just for the sake of metaphor either. Ocean’s lyrics may surpass the abstract genius of Picasso’s art in that he often utilizes vivid, unusual imagery and intensely sensual phrases (“her pink skies will keep me warm”) in his songs.

Why did I go into great detail about the brilliance of Frank Ocean immediately following two paragraphs that explain my opinions on cynicism? I’m getting there, be patient. You see, on July 4, 2012, about a week prior to the release of channel ORANGE, Ocean published an open letter on his Tumblr account in which he confessed to his first love being a male. He was 19, and he spent an entire summer developing an extremely close, platonic relationship with another young man. He also revealed that the love was unrequited, as the man had a girlfriend and was not interested in progressing his and Ocean’s relationship any further. Ocean concluded the letter by saying "I don't know what happens now, and that's alrite. I don't have any secrets I need kept anymore...I feel like a free man.” The entire letter was dripping with a level of emotional vulnerability and candidness that is rarely seen from artists within the hip-hop/R&B community, a notoriously homophobic environment. 

Reactions from people around the music industry were overwhelmingly positive, with Russell Simmons, brother of hip-hop group Run DMC’s Rev Run and co-founder of Def Jam Recordings, congratulating Ocean on his courage with this statement: "Today is a big day for hip-hop. It is a day that will define who we really are. How compassionate will we be? How loving can we be? How inclusive are we? [...] Your decision to go public about your sexual orientation gives hope and light to so many young people still living in fear.” Beyonce, Jay-Z, Tyler, the Creator (Ocean’s friend and an alleged homophobe), and others also publicly expressed their support.

You knew it wasn’t going to be all positive though. As expected, Internet trolls and stuck-in-their-ways conservatives voiced their opinions wherever they could. However, I have no drawn-out qualms with those who simply disapprove of Frank Ocean’s bisexuality. If that’s what they believe, then that’s what they believe. There’s nothing I can do about that. That being said, I do have a bone to pick with those (probably few, but still enough) who point out the timing of the letter in relation to his new, major label/studio debut album. It’s those damn cynics (see, I told you I’d bring it all back) who just can’t fathom a famous musician being openly sentimental without having the “bottom line” in mind.  This is an actual comment left on the bottom of a Gawker article about Frank's reluctance to assign labels to himself just because he admitted to having intimate feelings for a man:

"'You can move to the next question.' Right after I give you a much longer response to this one than I will for any of the others.Honestly, I find this guy incredibly obnoxious. What he did was a publicity stunt (did you see what it did for sales/attention around his album's release?) and if he's gay or bi or WHATEVER, he should just fucking come out and say it. I'm so sick of people who "aren't into labels," because they're actually just into talking shit and confusing people to get more publicity."

I’m fairly certain that most of those who think the letter was nothing more than an effort to sell albums are additionally homophobic. I’m also fairly certain that some of those same cynics don’t even factor Ocean’s sexual orientation into their criticisms of the letter. They’d rather simply bash him for what they perceive as a “well-timed sap story” or something insensitive like that. To that point, I would counter with: if the goal was to increase his notoriety in anticipation of the release of his album, then why would he choose to share something that extremely personal and controversial? Why wouldn’t he, instead, opt to just embellish some story about a failed relationship with an old girlfriend? That way, he can lock down some sympathy sales without creating a monumental stir.

Frank Ocean was certainly not the first musician to feel like an outsider in his field because of his sexuality. And I’m certainly glad he didn't harbor negative emotions about his hidden sexuality like Judas Priest lead singer Rob Halford did during his career. Halford came out publicly in 1998, but also admitted that prior to that, he struggled with depression and feelings of isolation, which in turn led to heavy drug and alcohol use. Would the cynics have poked their heads out if he made his announcement earlier, say while he was still making music with Judas Priest (he split from the band in 1991)? Who knows, but I’m sure the possibility of backlash like that was a concern of Halford’s while he privately lived in despair. 

In the late 1960’s, Elton John was engaged to a woman named Linda Woodrow. In 1976, the singer came out as a bisexual. Eight years later, John married German recording engineer Renate Blauel, only to have the marriage be written off as a cover for his exclusive interest in men. Finally, in 1988, John divorced Blauel and described himself as “comfortable” being gay. Unlike Frank Ocean, John didn’t happen to align any of his major “announcements” with a big release or anything like that; the “bisexual” Rolling Stone article was actually published months after his live album Here and There dropped. Nonetheless, John was clearly relieved following his coming-out in 1988, as he didn’t have to feel insecure or shame over his sexuality.

Legendary Queen frontman Freddie Mercury never even took a route similar to Ocean or Elton John; Mercury was openly ambiguous about his sexuality. In other words, whenever confronted about if he was gay or not, Mercury would provide misleading, almost incomprehensible responses, like this one: “Let's put it this way; there were times when I was young and green. It's a thing schoolboys go through. I've had my share of schoolboy pranks. I'm not going to elaborate further." Elaborate further? You didn’t elaborate at all, Mr. Mercury! Anyway, the point is, Freddie Mercury never even let his sexuality become a public spectacle. He was who he was, and that part of his life had absolutely nothing to do with the quality of his (exceptional) music. There was never an opportunity for detractors to disparage the motives behind a “coming-out-of-the-closet” kind of move with him.

Honestly, I couldn’t even find an example of a musician intentionally revealing something  controversial about him/herself just as his/her career was about to take off. It was that bold of a move by Ocean to do what he did. Possibly, former Amercian Idol star Adam Lambert can be mentioned alongside Ocean in that respect, but his decision to go public was essentially only a formality. Everyone was convinced he was gay before he even confirmed it. On the other hand, no one besides those who really knew him was aware that Frank was bisexual (aside from Wiz Khalifa, who apparently has 20/20 hindsight, as evidenced by his claim that he knew all along. Was that cynical of me to assume Wiz is lying? I’ll let you decide). Most homosexual musicians in the past delayed their outing until after they were finished being relevant. But not Frank. He bravely decided that his impending fame would not be worth it unless he was allowed to be who he truly was.

For someone so forthcoming about his personal life, especially in his music, Ocean is a shy and, quite frankly, awkward guy in person. He really only seems as confident and articulate as he really is when discussing music. As the conversation shifts to other topics, his demeanor tends to regress into one that you would see from a small child at his/her first day of school. This is on full display in his Grammy acceptance speech, where he fumbles through this seemingly impromptu opening to his speech, word-for-word: 

“So I hear it’s a bit more, uh, the way you disarm an audience is imagining them naked, but I don’t, I don’t want to do that. I want to look at you all as kids in tuxedos and looking all fancy, and stuff like that.” 

He says this all while having some sort of a half-joking, half-bewildered grin plastered on his face. As he’s talking, the atmosphere in the building is probably somewhere between confused and uncomfortable. The delivery of the entire thing, though, displays his innocence and harmlessness so much so that you’re pretty captivated despite the strangeness of what he’s saying. 

Does this sound like someone who is interested in using his personal life solely as a vehicle to achieve greater professional achievement? In Frank Ocean, you have an emotionally vulnerable young man who happens to have an incredible gift to produce music in a genre that also happens to traditionally not be very accepting of homosexuals. As a result of this, Ocean unsurprisingly concealed the experiences he shared with the man known as the “Tumblr guy” during the early stages of his budding career. As his song-writing began to venture into that part of his life for channel ORANGE, Ocean made the difficult, but necessary, decision to out himself before anyone else could. 

Given all that I’ve told you about him, and anything else you may also know, the cynics’ view of his open letter just doesn't add up. I can’t force the unimpressed cynic to commend him on his courage. All I can do is ask that his writing of the letter be looked at through Ocean’s eyes.

After you do that, now how does it look?

Funky Music

No Weekend Football Recap just yet, sorry. Here's a little something to snack on though while you're waiting:

Hailing from the truly fascinating city of Atlanta, Georgia, OutKast is one of the greatest hip/hop groups of all time. A publicly-voted hip/hop group tournament held by grantland.com’s Jalen Rose and David Jacoby actually placed them #1 (controversially, I might add. Naturally, Wu-Tang Clan was the heavy favorite, but they just couldn’t pull the fan votes that OutKast did). The duo, consisting of Andre “Andre 3000” Benjamin and Antwan “Big Boi” Patton, has amassed an incredible career that has spanned two decades and produced several commercially and critically beloved albums. The only problem is, most casual hip/hop fans under the age of 20 are not aware of that storied history. And this is quite a problem.

The crux of my issue with my peers’ ignorance of OutKast’s early work lies in the year 2003. Ah, what a great year in pop culture. LeBron James just entered the NBA as the most insanely-hyped basketball player ever, the mystical cinema adventure known as The Lord of the Rings trilogy concluded with Return of the King, and Chappelle's Show even debuted. Arguably more popular than all three of these events was the release of “Hey Ya!” by OutKast, the lead single of their new, double-length album Speakerboxxx/The Love Below. From the second it was completed in the studio, “Hey Ya!” was the perfect radio hit. Catchy hook? Check. Infectiously upbeat rhythm? Check. Awesome music video featuring eight Andre 3000’s? Check (Technically, that’s 24000 Andre’s). The song even inexplicably rejuvenated the entire Polaroid Corporation as a result of the line “Shake it like a Polaroid picture”. “Hey Ya!” topped the Billboard Hot 100 for nine consecutive weeks, won the Grammy for Best Urban/Alternative Performance, and was nominated for Record of the Year. In other words, “Hey Ya!” owned 2003. Since it was a mix of several genres, the song was frequently played on rap, pop, rock, funk, and alternative radio stations; you couldn’t escape the song even if you tried. My brother and his friends even performed the song at their 4th grade talent show. Die-hard, “Day 1” OutKast fans should have been ecstatic that their favorite group was finally reaching the masses, right?

Wrong. You see, for 9 years prior to “Hey Ya!”, OutKast had been making some pretty incredible Southern rap that blended funk, reggae, and rock elements like no one else at the time. Their debut album, the appropriately-titled Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik, was well-received by music critics and hip/hop heads alike, as their unique style pervaded the entire rap industry. OutKast’s lyrics touched on social issues such as the status of African Americans in the South as well as various “coming-of-age” topics, all while commenting on the lavish, immoral lifestyles of the pimps and gangsters they see around Atlanta. The duo’s follow-up effort, ATLiens, once again had that distinct “OutKast” sound: live-instrument-recorded tracks, smooth vocals, and complex rhyme schemes. Always progressing, however, OutKast was praised by critics for being ambitious and unique in creating ATLiens’s more laid-back, sonically-produced sound. Two years later in 1998, OutKast released Aquemini, a 16-song masterpiece that has received universal acclaim for its perceptive lyricism and diverse beats. Songs like “Chonkyfire” and “SpottieOttieDopaliscious” feature some of the most memorable hip/hop beats ever produced. Critics commended OutKast’s ability to stick to their roots and make only the exact kind of music that they want. Steve Huey of AllMusic appreciated that OutKast avoided “hardcore cliches” and called the album "a virtuosic masterpiece, and a landmark hip-hop album of the late ‘90s.” Fernando Jr. of Rolling Stone wrote "OutKast prove that you don't have to sell out to sell records.” The year 2000 saw the group drop Stankonia, a small shift toward the pop-sounding music that was to come. Still, this album was plenty adored by hip/hop fans, as “B.O.B”, essentially the lead single, is often referred to as OutKast’s finest individual achievement. After so many successful and respected albums and songs, how, you may ask, did OutKast resort to the dark depths of the radio hit?

Well, Big Boi and Andre 3000’s decision to make their own solo albums most likely contributed to it. The two records were combined to form the afore-mentioned Speakerboxxx/The Love Below, which is considered a “group release”, but there was simply a noticeable lack of the elements that comprised a classic OutKast album. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy “Hey Ya!” immensely, as well as other songs off the album, such as “The Way You Move”, “Ghetto Musick”, and especially “Roses”. It’s just that these songs were not in the mold of the songs that made OutKast the pioneer of Southern hip/hop in rap circles across the country. Instead, the group became known as “Oh, they sung ‘Hey Ya!’, right?” 


If you ask me, there’s something fundamentally wrong with that. Maybe it’s an irreparable part of the music industry: groups will always be known for the songs that garner the most attention, not necessarily the ones that are agreed upon as their best work. One prevailing thought is that those who claim they are OutKast fans just because they like “Hey Ya!”, but have never heard their 90’s catalogue, are mired in ignorance. My worst fear, however, is the decent possibility that when those same people actually decide to take the initiative and indulge themselves in OutKast’s earlier albums, they won’t like what they hear. If this were the case, then I would really only have one thing left to say: “That is a damn shame.”

Week 8 College Football Preivew

I'M BAAAAACK.

After failing to provide my picks for last week's games, I'm chomping at the bit to return to my beloved college game. Of course, this adds extra pressure now on this week's picks to be on point. Truthfully, I have no idea how I'm even doing this year in terms of a win/loss record. I never bothered to keep track after the first couple weeks, and I'm not going to start now. Regardless, I usually have an idea of which games I pick each week and who I have in each of them. Let's just say I'm .500 and call it even.

I'm not going to go into length at all about the mega-matchup of Notre Dame-Florida State because, well, everyone else is. It deserves all the attention it has received in the days leading up to it, but I just don't believe I will be telling you anything you haven't already heard. Might as well throw out my prediction though: FSU 34, ND 21.

If you peruse the box scores of Division II/III, FCS, or even some low FBS teams, you will final scores that reach a total of 110-120 points almost every week. The defenses of those teams just can't handle the handful of offensive juggernauts that dominate those ranks each year. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying Power 5 conference teams can't be a part of shootout. Just last week, Baylor edged TCU 61-58 after an improbable comeback. But that was probably the highest-scoring game in a while. Usually a "shootout" to most high-major teams look more like the 50-43 victory by Notre Dame over UNC. That's usually what constitutes a high-scoring game. Also, that game featured Baylor, who also took part in the most indescribable display of offense I've ever seen from a high-major FBS game. That game was the Baylor-West Virginia bonanza from 2012, their first game as conference foes. Two teams that have established reputations as gun-slinging, high-flying, offensive-orientated squads, Baylor and West Virginia is developing into an awesome rivalry as a result of their similar styles of play and uncanny ability to blow up that stat sheet. And blow up the stat sheet they did! Nowadays, Geno Smith is little more than a punchline as an NFL quarterback. Just two years ago, though, he threw for 656 YARDS AND 8 TOUCHDOWNS against Baylor, leading his then-undefeated WVU squad to 70 points and a W. Geno was on top of the world following that game. He emerged as the Heisman favorite, a legitimate option to be the #1 pick in the draft, and the hero of Morgantown, West Virginia. It would be sad for me to see him throw game-clinching touchdowns to the other team like he did in the Jets' Week 6 loss to the Broncos, only if I didn't despise the New York Jets. Even as he defeated my Texas Longhorns a week later, I couldn't help but find myself being mesmerized by Geno's mind-boggling production through the first 5 games of that 2012 season. As we all know, the wheels fell off immediately after the Texas game for WVU, as Geno started to look shakier and shakier with each loss. He slipped to the 2nd round of the 2013 NFL Draft and has been the object of much media scrutiny as the Jets' quarterback ever since.

12:00 PM ET - 4 Baylor (-7.5) at West Virginia
We may not see another 133-point, 1507 total-yards-combined neutral-viewing dream like we did in 2012, but this week's iteration of the Bears and Mountaineers series should be plenty entertaining. Baylor enters the game as the #1 offense in the country, averaging 623 yards and 52.7 points per game. West Virginia is no slouch in its own right, ranking 8th in YPG. WVU also features one of the top wideouts in the country in Kevin White. White currently leads the entire nation in receiving yards with 888, more than 100 more than the next player. Unsurprisingly, QB Clint Trickett is also 3rd in the country in passing yards. As you can see, this one has all the makings of an exceptional offensive showdown. It may be shocking to hear this, but the defenses should decide this game. Both teams have talent on that side of the ball, even though they aren't known for it. Baylor's top CB, Xavien Howard, is about as physical and competitive a cover corner that I've seen this year, and his matchup against White is easily the one I will be watching most closely. For West Virginia, true freshman safety Dravon Henry has been very good this year, and he pairs with Karl Joseph to form a fairly intimidating secondary. Playing on the road at Morgantown is no joke, but I'm leaning toward Baylor stealing a win, thanks to a late TD from another true freshman phenom, K.D. Cannon.

3:30 PM ET - 21 Texas A&M at 7 Alabama (-13.5)
Another earth-shattering game from two years ago, Texas A&M-Alabama solidified the Johnny Football legacy with his signature upset at Bryant-Denny. This time around, 'Bama isn't quite #1, but they're still a damn good football team. A&M, meanwhile, has gotten swept up in the Mississippi Revolution in their past two games, and they enter this monumental SEC West Matchup with a record of 5-2 overall, and 2-2 in the conference. The Kenny Trill train has certainly slowed down, almost enough to tempt me to call him Kenny Hill again. It's just such a great nickname though. He would need to have a Derek Anderson circa 2009 against the Buffalo Bills-type game for me to officially revoke that piece of gold. The Crimson Tide offense has also looked like a shell of its early-season self in their last two games, combining for only 31 points. Amari Cooper NEEDS to be fed, no matter how many defenders teams are committing to him. 2 catches for 22 yards, like he had against Arkansas, is just unacceptable. Can I really start off my post with two road winners? Yes, I can! A&M has their backs against the wall with 2 losses already and, even though they are probably already eliminated from the playoffs, securing a BCS bowl is still a huge motivating factor. Their defense, led by freshman freak Myles Garrett, will stifle Blake Sims just enough to give them the victory.

4:00 PM ET - 15 Oklahoma State at 12 TCU (-10)
The reason I opted to highlight this game over the equally-important Big 12 matchup of Kansas State-Oklahoma is simply that TCU has suddenly become really exciting to watch, and Ok. St. is always a competitive squad. I don't think I've ever seen a Cowboys team get blown out. This 2014 group is no different: going back to their season-opening loss to Florida State, Oklahoma St. just always hangs around in every game they play. It should be interesting to see if this new-and-improved Horned Frogs team can break that trait. Led by runaway Big 12 Most Improved Player winner Trevone Boykin, TCU has transformed its offense into a wide-open, up-tempo passing attack, as evidenced by its placing of 12th in the nation in passing yards per game. Honestly, I never expected head coach Gary Patterson to turn to the "dark side", so to speak, and join the litany of spread offenses that have taken over college football. TCU was always known for its pro-style offense, like the one that made Andy Dalton into a Rose Bowl winner and 2nd round pick. At home, I don't expect Boykin and the TCU offense to be slowed down any, even against an underrated Cowboys defense. Horned Frogs roll.

8:00 PM ET - Washington at 9 Oregon (-20.5)
It's Shaq time! The Huskies may not pull of the upset on the road in Eugene, but odds are that Washington LB/RB Shaq Thompson will put on a show in prime time on national television (Is Fox Sports 1 national television? I'm actually not sure. I think it is). He also won't win Heisman, but that doesn't mean he isn't one of the most talented college football players in the country. Thompson currently has 5 touchdowns on the season; 3 fumble recoveries, 1 pick-six, and 1 rushing. He has a total of 9 carries for 84 yards, although the touchdown run accounts for 57 of those yards. If that's not enough versatility for you, he even returned 2 punts and 2 kickoffs last year (none for touchdowns, sadly). Thompson's story is a pretty interesting one, as he was a can't-miss, blue-chip safety coming out of high school in Calfornia, but opted to play for Steve Sarkisian and the less-heralded Washington Huskies. Only problem is, Sarkisian left to coach USC prior to this season, but that hasn't stopped Thompson from developing into one of the top defensive players in the country and a probable future first-round pick. Adding to the versatility theme established above, he was even an 18th round draft pick of the Boston Red Sox in 2012! The guy can truly do it all. Oh, I have a game to pick, don't I? Is Marcus Mariota still the quarterback for Oregon? Yeah? Oregon wins.

10:30 PM ET - 23 Stanford (-3.5) at 17 Arizona State
My football-crush on Arizona State WR Jaelen Strong is well-documented by now, and I can't wait to watch him play against the perennially stout Stanford D. By early Sunday morning, when the game is over, Strong will have dominated the Cardinal secondary. It's that simple with him. The Sun Devils' QB situation, on the other hand, is the furthest thing from simple (Was that a Drake reference? Who knows). Filling in for injured starter Taylor Kelly, backup Mike Bercovici, besides sounding like he should be on the Italian national soccer team, has thrown for nearly 1000 yards and precisely 8 TD's to 2 INT's in just two games. That's insane. Bercovici has done a great Matthew Stafford impersonation in his time as a starter, in that he has a tendency to throw it up to his Megatron when all else fails. With Strong, however, most of the time that is a positive habit to have. Just ask USC. Well, Kelly returned to practice this week, although his status for the game is still uncertain. Bercovici has more than proved himself as a capable starter if Kelly can't go, but coming off a 63-27 murder at the hands of UCLA, perhaps Kelly's running element is needed to take down a defense of Stanford's caliber. If I had to guess, I'd say Kelly sticks to the clipboard and sits out another week, leaving Bercovici as the starter in a pivotal game for Arizona State. They are very fortunate to get this game at home, and for that reason, I'll take them to pull off the mild upset (according to the spread). #ForksUp

Fantasy Football Focus - Week 7

This is really becoming a problem.

No CFB Preview, no shoutouts, no NFL recap. I disappeared this week. I let my loyal readers who can be counted one two hands down, and for that I sincerely apologize. To resolve the issue of me not completing any posts on Sunday-Tuesday the past couple weeks, I have decided to change up my schedule of weekly posts. I will continue with my CFB previews each Friday; the lack of one last week was an outlier. In regards to my Shoutouts and NFL Recap posts, I will now combine the two to form a Weekend Football Recap post that will come out every Monday. Half NFL, half college. I think this system should work well. I'm glad I got this opportunity to clear things up, and I hope a week-long absence like that doesn't happen again. Onto fantasy stuff.

We are officially at the midway point of the 2014 fantasy season! Congratulations to all that are .500 or above and looking strong for the playoffs, and to all those who have begrudgingly realized that it's just not their year (like me), it's OK. I feel your pain.

Looking ahead to Week 7, I'd like to dedicate most of this post to my fantasy league, then of course I will run through some actual fantasy material at the end. In the SPFFL, Week 7 means only one thing: Rivarly Week. RW is a time-honored institution in our league, known for its exceptional roster-bashing and creative smack talk. RW is an absolute must-win game, especially if your rival is someone who talks a lot of shit.

SP Football's greatest rivalry, Kevin "KY" Young's Krazy Kevs vs. George Green's What are the chances, has sadly been laid to rest by an increasingly unpopular, experimental decision among the owners to randomize the rivalries for this year. The origins of this change was the overwhelming opposition to me and my brother being "rivals" when all my brother did last year was root for me to win. KY and George's enthusiasm in hurling the most vulgar insults at each other for 7 days in the middle of the fantasy calendar was probably the most cherished league-wide tradition for the past 3 years.

With the rivalry on hold for at least this year, the new torch-carrier is the Mike Santini-Dylan Mednick rivalry. As my team tanks away the rest of the season, essentially sapping my rivalry week of any importance, Mike's squad (at 2-4) NEEDS a win to stay in the playoff hunt. Dylan is sitting comfortably in 2nd place with a 5-1 record. Fortunately for us as a league, Mike is extremely passionate at peppering Dylan with obscene, violent remarks. His catchphrase might as well be "Fuck you Dylan". While not very good at reciprocating that type of playful hatred, Dylan is extremely confident in his fantasy team and usually replies by simply saying he's going to destroy him, or something like that. When he's on though, Mike's venomous, completely non-serious barbs directed at Dylan are something of a work of art. I do not have any direct quotes on hand, but most involve defecation.

The heart of Rivalry Week's significance lies in the comments seen on the Smack Talk board located in each matchup. Our league's king of the hilarious and weird is none other than Chris "Sauce" Apicella, owner of TuckerRightInThePusy. Though many have tried, no one can quite figure out how the hell the kid comes up with the shit that he puts on there. Sauce takes the words "random", "nonsensical", and "outlandish" to a whole other level. I do have examples of his best work just from this season. Enjoy:

"Antonio Fences is Antonio Gates' closeted homosexual doppelgänger"

"Drew Brees shreds the lions asshole harder than a planet wings appetizer followed by a taco bell dinner"

"Dirty Martellus and the boys"

"James and the giant cock"

"Foster's Home for Imaginary Cock"

"Who Framed Roger Cock"

"Bridget Jones' Cock"

"Roethlisberger with no pickles or onions and a Forte oz. Budweiser to go" (more clever than his usual brand of downright batshit crazy)

"I'll take 'Gostkowski's Shlong' for 600 Alex"

"Giovani Bernard boyfriend dies and costs mark the game"

"Who the fuck names their white child Jordy?"

"Keenan Allen will call his uncle Tim Allen who is both Santa and a home improver therefore he will have a great house to live in on Christmas so dom wins"

"Matt Ryan will be set on fire before this season is over"

Long live Smack Talk.

The 2014 season as a whole has been a fairly interesting one. First round running backs have yielded largely disappointing results, as Lesean McCoy, Jamaal Charles, and Eddie Lacy have underperformed, while AP...well, you know the deal there. 2nd round running backs like Demarco Murray, Gio Bernard, and Marshawn Lynch are carrying teams, and George got the biggest steal of the draft by taking Josh Gordon, who will return in Week 12 as the best receiver in the league with Megatron banged up and ineffective, in the 9th round. Like he even needs Gordon: George's What are the chances squad is in 1st place with a 5-1 record, led by studs Aaron Rodgers, Demarco Murray, Steve Smith, and Julius Thomas. As a result of this top-of-the-draft wackiness, owners who did not go RB in the 1st have been largely successful thus far. The three owners who took Aaron Rodgers, Peyton Manning, and Demaryius Thomas are a combined 13-5.

I am the unfortunate dumbass who made Lacy the face of his franchise. It's been frustrating to say the least (I'm 1-5). Lacy, along with Zac Stacy, Percy Harvin, and Torrey Smith, have dismantled my season, along with injuries to A.J. Green and Jordan Reed. Not to mention I drafted RG3 in the 8th round. I was able to grab Matt Ryan, who has been a competent starter, but definitely a back-end QB1 in a 10-team league. 2014 has not been kind to the 2-time defending champ.

Regardless, I still pour my heart into my fantasy team each and every week, as do my leaguemates. There's nothing we would rather do with our autumn Sundays. The 2nd half of the season should be even crazier, as four teams are currently tied for the last playoff spot. Who knows, maybe I'll even make a push for that 6th seed (no, I will not; I'm starting Jonathan Stewart this week). We wait all winter, spring, and summer for the season to start every year, and now that it's already halfway over, I'm making sure to enjoy every week just as much as always. Even if I am in dead last.

Sp Football Standings through Week 6:

1. What are the chances - 5-1 (909.25 Points For)
2. Notorious M.A.F.I.A. - 5-1 (854.55)
3. Marks Marauders - 4-2 (880.45)
4. Scooby Doos - 4-2 (790.80)
5. The Uncle Ricos - 3-3 (731.90)
6. Krazy Kevs - 2-4 (836.85)
7. #SantiniCrimeFamily (810.35)
8. TuckerRightInThePusy - 2-4 (803.85)
9. The DOMinators - 2-4 (759.60)
10. 10 AM in Philly - 1-5 (740.90)

Actual Fantasy Advice:
I may be 1-5, but I am still pretty confident that I know how to spot a good fantasy producer before it happens. I did start Jerick McKinnon Week 4 against the Falcons when he was still a largely-unowned backup. He went off for 138 total yards (19.50 SP) on just 19 touches. I did start Delanie Walker in Week 2 when he exploded for 31.20 SP when he was only being started by 26% of Yahoo fantasy owners. So I still have some skills, just the luck side hasn't come through for me this year like it has in the past.

That being said, I'm also not claiming that I'm some sort of fantasy prophet either. I analyze stats and match-ups just like anyone else does, and I give you my honest opinions. So without further ado, here are my suggested under-the-radar/desperate starts for Week 7:

QB Joe Flacco - Facing a non-threatining Atlanta secondary/pass rush, Flacco should look to replicate the pristine first half he enjoyed just last week that saw him throw for over 200 yards and 5 TD's. The running game is helping Flacco out a ton by forcing defenses to consider stacking the box some, Torrey looks to be getting it going, and Steve Smith continues to spread blood and guts all over every field he plays on. He's a decent QB1 streamer for this week.

RB Isaiah Crowell - He may be a firm #2 behind starter Ben Tate, but with Cleveland playing Jacksonville this week, Crowell figures to see the field plenty. I shouldn't even have to say it, but Jacksonville's opponents this season have shown a propensity to take a relatively large lead by the 4th quarter, leading to backups getting some PT. Especially when a backup is as talented as Crowell is. If Cleveland establishes a lead early, we could very easily be looking at another double-digit carry day for Crowell, plus a touchdown.

RB Fred Jackson - He. Will. Not. Lose. See, paraphrasing Nas/Jay-Z always works. Fred-Ex was 10th among running backs in fantasy last year, and at age 33, he is once again hovering around top-10 status, mostly thanks to his 30 receptions (2nd in the NFL for RB's). This week, I expect Jackson to be the lead ball carrier for the Bills as well after C.J. Spiller had a crucial fumble at the end of the first half last week against the Patriots. The catches will continue to be there, and more running lanes should be available to Fred against a soft Minnesota defense.

WR Mohamed Sanu - A.J. Green is (sadly) out another week, so Sanu will continue his time as Andy Dalton's #1 wideout. Truthfully, Gio is probably the alpha dog in the passing game, but there are still plenty of targets to go around, and Sanu is next in line. In Week 6, he put up a monster 10-catch, 120-yard, and 1-TD stat line. He may not post numbers like that again, but expect him to come reasonably close as long as Colts's cornerback Vontae Davis doesn't shadow him all game.

WR Odell Beckham Jr. - Not sure if he is true FLEX material just yet, but he could be after this week. Beckham, along with Reuben Randle, has a huge opportunity in front of him with Victor Cruz being out for the year, and he has some serious expectations heaped on him. Those expectations are merited, of course, as he was a 1st-round pick. He possesses all the talent necessary to take a leap into big-time fantasy relevance, now the only question is: Will he?

TE Jordan Reed - Seriously, if he's not owned and being started in every league this week, that league should be immediately voided and barred from play for the rest of the year.

Good luck to all fantasy owners in Week 7.

Fantasy Football Focus - Week 6

I've been really slacking with my blog posts lately.

I will fully admit this, and I'm truly disappointed in myself. It's not like I didn't have anything to write about or I wasn't interested; this past week of college football was insane and there was plenty to discuss from Week 5 in the NFL (including my Bills winning on a Dan Carpenter 58-yard GW FG! Had to throw that in there). There's no excuse for my inactivity, except for maybe that college work and college laziness are piling up.

Let's put that all in the past and look to the future, shall we? Last week, I tried out an all-fantasy football post, and it failed miserably. Well, not miserably; it at least performed better than my Alfred Morris All-Stars college football post (really thought that was an innovative idea. I don't quite know why it flopped like it did). So this week, because it is once again a Wednesday, and no one wants to hear about last week on a Wednesday, I will attempt to re-work my fantasy football post format in hopes something worth reading will rise from the ashes. Basically, this post is like a phoenix.

To change things up a bit, I will be implementing an idea that is relevant to the state of fantasy football right now. By Week 6, fantasy owners have at least a solid idea of who each player on their team is, how effective they have been, and how effective they will be moving forward. You have probably been involved in some trade talks, made an impact pickup or two, and finally benched/dropped an underwhelming top draft pick by now as well.

In my opinion, Week 6 is the first of two turning points during the fantasy season (the other is week 11). If you're 3+ games over or under .500, it's less of a monumental week for you. If you're 1-4 or 0-5, you have to start winning NOW. If you're sitting pretty at 4-1 or 5-0, an L this week won't kill you. I'm talking to those 2-3 and 3-2 squads. Those middle-of-the-pack guys. You know who you are. Week 6 is pretty pivotal for you guys. 2-3 teams make their lives a whole lot more difficult if they drop to 2-4, and 4-2 is a welcomed sight to any 3-2 team as opposed to falling back to .500. All this is why making the right moves is essential when shaping your team for the stretch run. By this point, a "good" draft means nothing. This is where real fantasy skills come into play. This is where the men are separated from the boys.

To assist all those out there seeking guidance on how to position themselves for a playoff run, I got you covered. The most important piece of business that owners must consider, and therefore what I will cover in this post, is to address all these pesky injured running backs. We all have at least one by now. Whether you're an owner of Mark Ingram, Ryan Mathews, Rashad Jennings, Montee Ball, or anyone RB that wears a Carolina Panthers uniform, you have been burned by some form of a banged-up ball-carrier. Not coincidentally, names like Andre Williams, Branden Oliver, Ronnie Hillman, and even Benny Cunningham have been among the hottest wavier-wire pickups of the last couple days.

Ball's injury is the only one that looks to be serious, but Denver is also the team most likely to replace him by using a committee. Hillman, Juwan Thompson, and C.J. Anderson all figure to get some looks taking handoffs from Peyton in the coming weeks. As for Jennings and Mathews, a safe assumption is that both will miss Weeks 6 and 7, meaning Williams and Oliver are only premium, locked-in starters for two games. Do not be scared off by this, getting two weeks of RB2-level production from a waiver pickup is extremely valuable, even if the value is short-lived. Two weeks can make a season, any means to acquire a win should be taken seriously.

Now there's the matter of nicked-up RB's who seem likely to play, but the extent of their effectiveness is highly in question. Players that fall under this category for Week 6 are Zac Stacy, Jonathan Stewart, and Reggie Bush. All three are driving fantasy owners crazy by causing second-guessing and uncertainty as they are trying to make roster decisions.

Stacy has managed to hold off COP back Benny Cunningham by simply being better this season, as Stacy's 4.3 YPC trumped Cunningham's 3.3 entering the Rams' Week 5 game. Once Stacy left with a strained calf, Cunningham took advantage by posting 71 yards and a touchdown. Although Stacy will most likely play this week against the 49ers, the combination of the brutal matchup and the strong possibility that Cunningham will eat into his carries makes me suggest to sit Stacy this week if your roster permits it.

Stewart, along with three-headed monster members DeAngelo Williams and Mike Tolbert, predictably got hurt earlier this year right when he was expected to carry the load of a struggling backfield. Well, he very well could return to the lineup this week against the Bengals, and I'm going to go out on a limb and say that the Darrin Reaves-Chris Ogbonnaya tandem will not prevent Stewart from seeing the field if he's healthy (enough). This may finally be the time where Stewart gets the carries he needs to blossom into at least FLEX-worthy back that doesn't rely on a TD to give owners a decent outing. Williams is not expected to suit up, and Tolbert is still on the IR-designated to return list. Cincinnati is 31st in run defense DVOA. Stewart figures to get a large amount of carries. I don't think I have to spell it out anymore for you. Stewart active = fantasy points (I decided to spell it out more).

One of fantasy's more frustrating backs this year, Reggie Bush had a prime opportunity to makes his owners happy last week as he took over a backfield down both Joique Bell and Theo Riddick. Only problem was every time he received a handoff, he would just run right into the brick wall that is the Buffalo Bills run defense, ranked #2 in the NFL if you refer to that handy chart from that last link. Adding insult to injury (or injury to insult really), Bush suffered a sprained ankle in the game, leaving the Lions with just one healthy running back: George Winn. Bush is reportedly "day-to-day" as of now, and should at least be active come Sunday. Bush has a dream matchup against the Vikings this week, the same Vikings that saw Eddie Lacy bust out for 105 yards and 2 TD's, as well as destroy safety Robert Blanton's entire life, on just 13 carries last Thursday . Yeah, I'd say insert Bush into your starting lineup with a fair amount of confidence as long as he's playing.

For those of you who don't own any of these guys or are not mightily affected by the rash of running back injuries, then lucky you! No, but seriously, I have a little something for you guys as well: Buy-low and sell-high candidates! Exciting, right? Well, sound advice on trade targets is exciting to me. Here are the guys you should be sending out offers for while their price tags are still cheap, as well as the players on your roster that could fetch a nice return while their stock is high:

Buy-Low
T.Y. Hilton - Seek out your league Hilton owners and gauge their frustration level with his zero touchdowns so far this season. While not exactly a red zone beast anyway, Hilton has also only produced one 100-yard game this season, a petty stat considering he's Andrew Luck's #1 receiver. Say your league Hilton owner is dealing with an injury to one of his running backs and is offering up Hilton for an RB, and you're set at the position but need a receiver, flood that person with some trade proposals. The Colts offense is airing it out as much as it ever has over the past 3 seasons, and it's not like T.Y. isn't having the ball come his way. He has double-digit targets in 4 out of 5 games, and his Week 5 9-catch total certainly made PPR leaguers take notice. The touchdowns should come too, maybe not rapidly by any means, but I expect Hilton to still finish the season with about 5-6.

Jordan Reed - It's very possible I just love him too much, but Jordan Reed is the ultimate buy-low target in my opinion. Reed has been hurt since he strained his hamstring attempting a hurdle after hauling in his first catch of the season in the first game of the year. Since then, he has been sideline, which has given way to Niles Paul's emergence. Paul will without a doubt return to the sidelines if Reed is active this week, which is a fairly decent possibility. The-man-with-two-first-names struggled  quite noticeably with run blocking in Washington's Monday Night loss to the Seahawks, and Reed is simply more dynamic than Paul when healthy. Reed is available in 48% of Yahoo leagues, and 49% of ESPN leagues, meaning you can "buy" him for free. If a Reed owner has stuck with him and not dropped him yet, he probably won't cave and trade him now. That is, unless, he also is experiencing RB issues (see, it all goes back to these damn RB injuries). In that case, you should be able to ship over a low-end FLEX-caliber RB for Reed, a TE1 for the rest of the season. Gotta love buying low.

Sell-High
Larry Donnell - After his 0-catch performance in Week 5, you wouldn't exactly be trading Donnell as high as he would have been the previous week, but there is still plenty of value attached to him. His inclusion on this list isn't even that much an overreaction to that dud against the Eagles. It's more an endorsement of Odell Beckham Jr. You see, Beckham is the Giants 1st-round pick from this past draft, and he just made a pretty sparkling 2014 debut on Sunday. Teaming with Victor Cruz and Reuben Randle, Beckham becomes the third cog in a pretty formidable 3-WR set for the G-Men. The Giants are among the league leaders in snaps with 3 WR's on the field, so expect the Giants to feed a player they have invested heavily in over an undrafted tight end who essentially won the starting job by default in the preseason. Donnell's 3 TD performance two weeks ago should be fresh enough in people's minds that you can convince prospective trade partners that they will be receiving TE1 production.

Philip Rivers - Obviously, you would only be selling Rivers at all if you drafted him as a backup and your starter is producing at top-10 levels as well. If you are in this situation, then there really isn't anyone who could be sold higher right now. Rivers is a legitimate MVP candidate, pilots a pass-orientated offense, and plays the highly susceptible Raiders defense twice from now until the end of the season, with the first of his match-ups against Oakland being this week. Trade partners should be fairly easy to find, simply look for owners about ready to give up on Tom Brady (despite his game against the Bengals) or Cam Newton. A demand for a RB2 and WR2/3 is a reasonable return that you could see should you part ways with the King of Bolo Ties.

Finally, the best advice I can give you: Don't make trades just because other people are and you think you should make one too. Trades should only occur if you have a clear need, and find someone else in your league who possesses a player who can fill that need for a fair price. Sometimes, the best remedy for a struggling team is just a reshuffling of the starting lineup and a week of good fortune. Good luck to all fantasy owners for Week 6, and remember: You're only having fun if you're winning.

SP Football standings through Week 5:

1. What are the chances - 4-1
2. Notorious M.A.F.I.A. - 4-1
3. Marks Marauders - 3-2
4. Scooby Doos - 3-2
5. The Uncle Ricos - 3-2
6. Krazy Kevs - 2-3
7. TuckerRightInThePusy - 2-3
8. #SantiniCrimeFamily - 2-3
9. 10 AM in Philly - 1-4
10. The DOMinators - 1-4

True Greatness

The fascinating life of a New Jersey mob boss and his friends and family. A high school chemistry teacher who receives news that he has cancer resorts to making meth to secure his family’s financial future. The epic struggle between the police force and drug dealers for the streets of Baltimore.

These are all descriptions of what are considered to be the greatest shows in the history of television. The Sopranos, Breaking Bad, and The Wire, respectively, are all incredible dramas that captivated audiences of varying sizes for years. Each has cases constructed in their favor as the show that deserves the honor of the #1 spot on any ranking TV show. Mark Lawson from theguardian.com published an article titled “Why The Sopranos is the Best TV Drama of All Time”, and in it he essentially argues that The Sopranos was the first TV show to have the ability to portray a world like the mafia so accurately with the show being on HBO. This line by Lawson sums up his point well, “…This unprecedented realism was fascinatingly mixed with an equally unusual surrealism…” Allen St. John wrote a column for forbes.com where he explains why Breaking Bad is the undisputed king of TV, claiming that what sets it apart is how creator Vince Gilligan had his protagonist change so drastically (and compellingly) from the beginning of the show to the end. In an incredibly lengthy debate on vulture.com, Matt Zoller Seitz gives a plethora of well-thought out reasons as to why The Wire trumps The Sopranos and all other shows, the most notable being consistency, realism, and superior storytelling. There really isn’t a doubt that these three television shows have cemented their spots on the TV Show Mount Rushmore. Full disclosure, if forced to pick which overall show was the best, I’d choose The Wire. But that is not what I’m arguing for here. See, I believe that debating which individual season of television reigns supreme is a slightly easier one to settle. And that is because the winner of that “debate” is True Detective’s debut season, and it’s not even close.

“Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson together on the small screen? Are you kidding me?” This was my reaction upon learning of the existence of True Detective, HBO’s gem of a miniseries that premiered in January of this year. Created by Nic Pizzolatto, True Detective blends narrative, mystery, wittiness, philosophical rants, beautiful women taking their clothes off, and Matthew McConaughey doing Matthew McConaughey things like no other show that has ever existed. The basic premise is two detectives are paired up to solve a case that starts out as a murder that appears to be the work of a cult follower. The two detectives end up being less-than-ideal matches for each other due to differing beliefs and views of the world. The tension between them becomes a prominent aspect of the show as the case they are investigating leads them further down the ominous side of humanity and the inner-workings of their own human consciousness. What may sound like a dark and somber cop drama is actually a fascinating examination of what motivates people to do what they do. Also, lucky for the viewers, the two detectives, Rust Cohle (McConaughey) and Marty Hart (Harrelson), are extremely interesting individuals. Harrelson is great in his portrayal of the good-natured but deeply flawed Marty, but it's McConaughey as Rust Cohle that absolutely steals the show. Cohle is an arrogant, aloof figure who basically enjoys ruining people’s days by spouting off negativity in the form of straight facts about life. No one wants to hear what he is saying based off his grim nature, but the dude spits the hard truth like nobody’s business. Cohle’s conversation topics of choice include the absurdity of religious congregation, the meaning of pessimism, and the Membrane theory. As he even says himself, “I’m not fun at parties.” Well put, Rust. Despite all that, Cohle is unquestionably the most compelling, unpredictable, and intriguing character I’ve ever seen, and I’ve seen some good ones. Walter White (from Breaking Bad) was incredible in his transformation from ordinary schoolteacher to menacing drug lord, Don Draper (Mad Men) is an extraordinarily complex and troubled character, and Tony Soprano was, to put it succinctly, an absolute boss (pun intended). Apologies to all those great fictional men, but Rust Cohle just has them beat. All the proof I need is the final 8:35 of the 4th episode of the season, where Cohle singe-handedly…you know what? I don’t even want to say it. Here, go watch it for yourself.

Now, True Detective has certainly been lauded by critics, I hope I haven’t made it seem like this was some type of abysmal show that has been dismissed by the public. Besides Andy Greenwald, TV “analyst” for grantland.com who has made no bones declaring his distaste for the show, the overwhelming majority to True Detective has been, well, overwhelmingly positive. That being said, very few have placed it among the ranks of the all-time greats. Many point out that a show that has only produced 8 episodes can not be even mentioned in the same breath as the titans that have been previously mentioned. To that, I say why not? If what you’re watching is pure excellence, then why does it matter how long it has been around. For example, about 8 years into his career, LeBron James transformed himself from “best player in the league” to “best player since Michael Jordan”. If he’s the best since Jordan, what’s stopping us as the basketball community from ranking him as the #2 NBA player to ever live? Just because he is only 10 years into an active career? Why do we have to wait for him to decline with old age and retire to give him his silver medal? What we are seeing out of LeBron is a level of sheer dominance that really hasn’t been seen in the NBA since THE CONSENSUS BEST PLAYER EVER DID IT 20 YEARS AGO. Excuse me, that was uncalled for.

True Detective has brought us a product that has never really been witnessed before on television, which is quietly really difficult to do considering the wide variety and insane quantity of shows that have reached our television sets during the Golden Age of Television (the past 15 years). I’d even argue that creating a single season that garnered as much attention and acclaim as True Detective did in only 8 episodes was even more impressive than if it was done in, say, 16 or 22. Pizzolatto had to compress a multi-layered story and fit everything he wanted to tell into less than 8 hours of air time. Still, none of the show felt rushed or out of rhythm, which is a testament to the everyone involved with the show, such as the writing staff, director Cary Joji Fukunaga, and all the actors and actresses. The show was able to construct an elaborate and developed plot with a satisfying resolution despite only running for 2 months. More impressive now that I put it into perspective, huh?



True Detective also has managed to consistently stay in the news months after season one’s final episode aired thanks to a devoted fan base that is constantly demanding hints for next season’s location, plot, characters, etc. Rumors seem to fly around every week over who will be cast in the lead roles. The names that seem to have stuck are Colin Farrell, Vince Vaughn, Taylor Kitsch, and possibly Elisabeth Moss. Translation: GET. HYPED. My last piece of advice that I have left to give to you is to hop on the bandwagon now before all the seats are taken. Remember, the first season was only 8 episodes, so it is very easy to catch up. True greatness doesn’t come around very often. But when it does, and we realize its brilliance as it’s happening, the only possible course of action is just to let yourself be taken along for the ride.

Week 6 College Football Preview

It's no accident that college football is basically just as popular as any other sport in America right now. The brand of football played by these 18-22 year old college athletes are just as exciting, if not more, than that of the pros. Every week we the fans witness countless dynamic, exciting performances that make us think, even if just for a second, that perhaps the college game is the one that deserves the attention that the NFL gets (not the type of attention it has received lately though). After all, every star we see that takes the field on Sundays got their start shining on Saturdays.

What I'm saying is that with the somewhat-but-maybe-not-quite exaggerated demise of the NFL being a major talking point all of a sudden, perhaps this is the perfect time to take a step back from obsessing over the NFL and instead appreciate the college game a little more. Of course, the NCAA is certainly not without flaws, the primary one over the past 15 years being the much-scrutinized BCS system. Credit the NCAA for realizing that they had a problem on their hands (albeit it took way longer than it should have) and acting accordingly. The newly installed playoff system has generated a new level of hype for college football in January, and it hopefully will be a more efficient way to determine each season's best team.

If there were ever a week for a casual college football fan to take my advice and begin following the college game more closely, this would be it. Week 6 is LOADED with great games featuring some of the best players in the country. Week 6 is the type of week that die-hard college fans salivate over when schedules are released over the summer. Week 6 has all the makings of the best Saturday of the regular season.

Don't leave Thursday out though, says Arizona. With their monumental upset over the #2-ranked Oregon Ducks, Arizona officially kicked off Week 6 with just about the most mind-shattering thing you will see this weekend. NO ONE expected Arizona to pull that off. It just didn't feel like one of those "upsets waiting to happen". Mississippi St. had that feel going into their game against LSU, as did Missouri when it stole one at South Carolina last week. Even as the game was unfolding and Arizona was hanging around, you just always got the feeling the Oregon's first explosive play was imminent, and that big play would then in turn open the floodgates. Strangely, it just never happened. Mariota's stats were fine; like always he had no turnovers and racked up 250+ yards of offense by himself. It's not like the running game was shut down or anything, as RB's Royce Freeman and Thomas Tyner averaged 4.4 yards per carry. The Oregon defense didn't let Arizona QB Anu Solomon throw all over them like he had been doing to all his previous opponents, and the Wildcats only averaged 3.8 yards per carry on the ground. See what I mean? All these numbers don't seem to add up to an Oregon loss. It just didn't add up. Unfortunately for the Ducks, games are decided on the field, not on that stat sheet. Arizona was able to find the end zone with 2:54 left in the game to put them up a touchdown, and Oregon wasn't able to respond. Sure, the penalty on Tony Washington was ridiculous and may have cost Oregon the game. But that just can't be a valid excuse for a squad that many, including myself, picked to win it all.

Any way you look at it, the Arizona-Oregon game is looking like an incredible preamble to an extraordinary weekend of college football. Even Taysom Hill and the BYU Cougars are playing on Friday night, which will be an exciting game only because Hill is an absolute delight to watch.

I'm hoping that I'm on my A-game for these picks and analysis. I can't disappoint for the best Saturday of the year. Good luck, me:

12:00 PM ET - 6 Texas A&M at 12 Mississippi State (-3)
In perhaps the biggest home game of Dan Mullen's entire time as the Bulldogs' head coach, Kenny Trill and the Aggies are shockingly receiving 3 points as they travel to Starkville. That just shows the respect Vegas has for this Mississippi State squad. And it's well deserved, because these guys can flat out play. As discussed following the LSU game, Dak Prescott has officially launched himself to the top of any Heisman dark horse list, and the defense definitely lives up to that much-ballyhooed "SEC Defense" billing. This is the only the first game and I'm already having trouble leaning either way. A&M certainly looked human in their OT escape of Arkansas last week, but that offense is still operating at otherworldly-levels of efficiency, and freshman/laboratory product Myles Garrett is an absolute terror for opposing QB's right now. Ultimately, I believe this game will come down to how effective Prescott will be as a passer against a talented Aggie secondary. Senior CB Deshazor Everett has emerged as a force, and sophomore Noel Ellis has stepped up as well. We all know about Prescott's ability to make plays with his legs, but how well will he fare if he is forced to remain in the pocket and make decisions as a charging Garrett is bearing down on him like a cheetah pouncing on its prey? This uncertainty is the driving force behind my decision to predict a 38-31 victory on the road for Texas A&M, and also because Kevin Sumlin.

3:30 PM ET - 3 Alabama (-6) at 11 Ole Miss
Not long after the A&M-Miss. St. game wraps up, less than 2 hours away another SEC heavyweight showdown should be getting underway. And this one is quite a match-up. Heisman contender Amari Cooper and the Tide will roll into Oxford to take on Bo Wallace and the Rebels. I said that Dak Prescott would need the best game of his career to take down LSU, and now I'm proclaiming the same for Mr. Wallace. In his 2nd year as the Rebels' starting QB, expectations are through the roof, especially now that they are off to a 4-0 start. The best Ole Miss QB since Eli Manning, Wallace has a tremendous weight on his shoulders as the pilot of an Ole Miss offense that is tasked with outscoring an Alabama offense that just put up more yards on Florida than any other team in Florida's entire history. The days of Greg McElroy Alabama offenses that scored 21 points and stopped because the other team only had 3 are over. Blake Sims is unlike the usual pocket passers that Saban usually employs. Sims is an impressive athlete with an arm to match. And then there's Cooper, who I have raved about on multiple occasions. Who hasn't at this point? I'm repeating myself here, but the guy is the best college WR I've seen since Justin Blackmon and the distance between the two is closer than you would think. Cooper will almost certainly get his as he always does, but it's up to the rest of the Alabama receiving corps to contribute as well. Ole Miss safeties Trae Elston and Tony Conner are about as good a pair in the country, and they are nightmares for receivers over the middle of the field. Throw in a front seven led by the Nkemdiche brothers, DT Robert and LB Denzel, as well as LB Deterrian Shackleford and DE C.J. Johson, and the Rebels' defense almost looks like it can match the usual ferocity exhibited by the guys that will be on the opposite sideline come Saturday. The Crimson Tide are obviously still no slouches, as there should be plenty of future pros on display, including S Landon Collins, LB Reuben Foster, LB Trey Depriest, and LB Xzavier Dickson. Well, it looks like I just convinced myself to pick my second road team to win. Bama is just too overwhelming, especially when Yeldon and Henry get going on the ground. I just don't see Ole Miss being able to corral those two enough to earn the victory.

3:30 PM ET - 4 Oklahoma (-4) at 25 TCU
Let's take a quick break from the SEC West to show a little Big 12 love, shall we? Don't worry, we will be back to that juggernaut of a division soon enough. Entering this game, some are calling Oklahoma the most dominant team in the nation through the first 5 weeks, and I unfortunately must agree. Pass-rushing menace/owner of the greatest football name ever Eric Striker and the Sooners D has been lockdown, and super frosh Samaje "Optimus" Perine has buoyed the rushing attack while usual lead back Keith Ford recovers from a knee injury. Ford is not expected to suit up against the Horned Frogs, but I have a feeling coach Bob Stoops and Oklahoma fans aren't too worried as that just means more touches for Perine and Alex Ross. QB Trevor Knight doesn't even have to be spectacular to win this admittedly difficult road game with all the talent he has surrounding him. A game-manager role may be the best way to deploy Knight in this one, as efficiency and clock-burning should be stressed over big plays and ill-advised deep bombs. The TCU offense has exceeded expectations so far this season, mostly because WR-turned-QB-turned-WR-turned-QB Trevone Boykin has finally put it all together at the quarterback position. He now seems to be supremely confident in how to properly utilize his athleticism to best move the ball. His progression as a passer has been an pleasant surprise for coach Gary Patterson, and is the main reason TCU fans are eager to notch what would most likely be their biggest win as members of the Big 12. Call it Texas bias, but I think the Horned Frogs will pull it off. Why not? Perhaps Arizona's victory was just a sign of things to come. Mark it down, TCU will be back on the national radar by the end of Saturday night.

3:30 PM ET - 14 Stanford (-2) at 9 Notre Dame
Wow, Vegas is giving no love to the Irish. At home, higher ranking, and still Stanford is 2-point favorites. Well, I don't agree with Vegas, as I think Notre Dame takes this one by 10 points, and here's why. Just last week, the Cardinal less-than-stellar against a pretty mediocre Washington squad in a 20-13 win that required a Kevin Hogan TD run with less than 5 minutes remaining in the game for Stanford to come away with the W. If it weren't for a couple successful Ty Montgomery jet sweeps, the Stanford rushing yard numbers would have looked very, well, un-Stanford like. I believe that Hogan is more than just a handoff-quarterback, but that still doesn't convince me that he can win games against top-tier competition without the punishing rushing attack that he's so used to leaning on. Secondly, we are so used to Stanford simply having a stout defense every year. The three guarantees in this world are death, taxes, and a star-studded Stanford D, right? This year, I just don't quite see it. Where are the Trent Murphy's, Shayne Skov's, and Chase Thomas' that we've seen patrolling the middle of the field the past couple years? Where are the Delano Howell's and Ed Reynolds' making plays in the secondary on this 2014 squad? LB A.J. Tarpley is the only one of those classic Stanford defenders I see on this roster, and he isn't the talent that the guys I just mentioned were. Without their usual defensive playmakers, I don't see how Notre Dame QB Everett Golson, who would be the runaway Comeback Player of the Year if the NCAA gave out the award, doesn't toss the ball around with the same relative ease he has thrown it with all year. RB's Greg Bryant and Tarean Folston provide great support in the run game, and receivers William Fuller and Corey Robinson are an excellent pair of targets for Golson in the passing game. Side bar: Notre Dame TE Ben Koyack projects to be the next in a ridiculously long line of Irish tight ends to be high picks in the NFL Draft. I see Koyack as more of a 4th round pick, which is later than guys like Anthony Fasano (2nd, 2006), John Carlson (2nd, 2008), Kyle Rudolph (2nd, 2011), Tyler Eifert (1st, 2012), and Troy Niklas (2nd, 2014). Still, that is an absolutely insane run of pro tight ends produced by Notre Dame. Crazy thing is, the run won't end with Koyack. Sophomore Durham Smythe projects to be the next great Notre Dame TE, and he is a true receiving threat more in the mold of Rudolph and Eifert than Niklas and Koyack, who are primarily blocking TE's. End of side bar. Back to the game, Notre Dame wins and continues its quest to represent the Independents in the college football playoff, while Stanford shows it may actually only be the 4th best team in the Pac-12.

7:00 PM ET - 15 LSU at 5 Auburn (-8)
See, I told you there would be more SEC West greatness. First note on this game: FOURNETTE. The freshman sensation finally broke out last week, and I don't care one bit that it was against New Mexico State. 18 carries for 122 yards and 2 TD's is 18 carries for 122 yards and 2 TD's. And it was exhilarating to watch Big L (trying out this as a nickname. Purely out of respect to the real one. R.I.P.) run rampant on overmatched defenses again. With that said, I think Auburn handles LSU pretty easily. Fournette may be awesome, but NOTHING tops the run-first, run-second offense that head coach Gus Malzahn has implemented. Led by QB Nick Marshall and RB Cameron Artis-Payne, Auburn straight up demoralizes people with a variety of read option, speed options, misdirections, and even simple off-tackle, zone runs that somehow almost always result in chunk gains. Marshall, while not a real polished passer, has even found a new monster target to throw to when dominating the ground game gets a little boring. WR D'haquille Williams is borderline unstoppable in this offense, as all 11 defenders are forced to devote most of their attention to the backfield. Trotting out possibly the best QB-RB-WR combo in college football (interesting note: all three are junior college transfers), Auburn looks to be just too much for the LSU defense to handle. Also, LSU has officially turned over its offense to true freshman Brandon Harris. Harris is plenty talented and looks all but guaranteed to be a future star based on his performances in relief so far this year, but I don't think he's ready for this moment, on the road, against the #5 team in the nation. Look for Auburn to get after Harris and pressure him into some mistakes that could possibly bury LSU early.

Fantasy Football Focus - Week 5

Usually, I put out my Stars and Stripes NFL post every Tuesday. That didn't exactly happen this week. Blame it on college work piling up and Parks and Recreation being so damn addictive.

Anyway, I've decided against writing a Week 4 recap on a Wednesday afternoon when the last game from the previous week ended over 18 hours ago as you most likely have already read your fill of Week 4 recap articles elsewhere on the Internet. Instead, I present to you a purely fantasy football column, where I discuss the best/worst match-ups, top sleeper performances, and other categories like those in a given week. I'm not sure if I'm going to start doing this every Wednesday, I guess that depends on how well this goes. I'm making up the format as I go, so if there's anything you want added, let me know.

I don't have any type of metric in front of me that quantifies whether or not an opponent is strong or weak against a certain position, but I do have basic fantasy point totals and my opinions. That should be enough, right? Right. Now, here are some notable players at various positions who you should keep an eye on for the positive and negative reasons that I will list.
(NOTE: For both my plus and minus-rated match-ups, I will not be including obvious, every week starters or obvious, every week waiver wire garbage. Only guys who could at least somewhat make sense being either in a starting lineup or on a bench depending on the matchup):

Quarterbacks
Plus-Rated Plays
Ben Roethlisberger (averaging 22.07 SP Per Game): Easy choice here. Big Ben has a dream matchup against the Jaguars this week, and he's coming off an impressive outing against the Bucs in Week 4. His top target, Antonio Brown, is currently the #1 fantasy WR (92.05 SP), and secondary weapons like Heath Miller and Markus Wheaton provide solid options as well. And, of course, Steelers RB Le'Veon Bell is drawing comparisons to Eddie George and receiving high praise from future Hall of Fame RB LaDainian Tomlinson. Jacksonville will most likely stack the box in an attempt to slow down Pittsburgh's running game, but honestly that will probably fail. Regardless, this should leave plenty of room all over the field for Big Ben to rack up plenty of points for your fantasy squads.

Nick Foles (avg. 23.29 SPPG): Although there are probably 10-12 QB's I'd start over Foles right now, this is more for those of you who possibly have Brady, Romo, or Kaep as your current starter. All 3 of those guys are becoming less and less credible as sure-fire starting fantasy quarterbacks, and none of them have exactly easy match-ups this week. That's why I recommend sliding Foles into your QB slot, as the St. Louis secondary has been fairly leaky thus far in 2014 (. Aside from Janoris Jenkins, an above-average corner, though not exactly shutdown either, there really aren't any cover men on the Rams that should scare you. Foles certainly hasn't picked up where he left off in 2013, as he has been overthrowing receivers and tossing picks far more often than he did in his magical, abridged season a year ago. Still, Foles is currently 13th among QB's who have started at least 3 games in 2014, and the Eagles will be passing plenty since their depleted offensive line can't seem to create any push for Shady McCoy in the running game. If you don't own a top-6 quarterback, start Foles with a fair amount of confidence this week.

Minus-Rated Plays
Tom Brady (avg. 14.79 SPPG): It has finally arrived. The clear demise of the Golden Boy. Brady has looked pretty shitty so far this season, and even late last year. Most Brady owners have already begun their search for his replacement. If you're not one of them, I recommend at least sitting him for just one week before giving him another chance. Brady goes up against quite possibly the best defense in the league right now, the Cincinnati Bengals. And the Bengals' secondary is STACKED. Leon Hall, Terrance Newman, Darqueze Dennard, Adam "Pacman" Jones, Reggie Nelson, and George Iloka are easily the most feared DB's west of Seattle in the entire league. The Bengals have given up only 2 passing touchdowns in 3 games this season, fewest in the league, and have picked off 6 passes, good for 2nd in the NFL. Simply put, Brady is not getting back on track this Sunday.

Andy Dalton (avg. 22.20 SPPG): Yeah, I'm pretty much saying there won't be much efficient passing going on in this game. But for good reason, as the Pats are allowing the fewest passing yards per game at just 185.5. Darrelle Revis has clearly made quite an impact on New England's pass defense, and fellow offseason addition Brandon Browner, formerly the 4th member of the LOB, returns this week after serving a 4-game suspension. For all the struggles the Patriots are experiencing on offense, they have been playing some real good defense in 2014. Well, besides that disaster at Arrowhead, which was amazing to watch as a Bills fan who has lived his whole life disturbingly jealous of the Patriots. Chiefs game aside, Pats D = bad game for opposing QB. Leave Dalton on your bench.


Running Backs
Plus-Rated Plays
Rashad Jennings (avg. 15.20 SPPG): After Jennings' explosion in Week 3, he firmly cemented himself as a high-end RB2 in any league, PPR or not. Week 4 saw Jennings turn in a rather disappointing performance, but that should all change against Atlanta's pushover run defense. Just last week, the Falcons let the plodding Matt Asiata and the electrifying, but extremely inexperienced, Jerick McKinnon run all over them to the tune of 213 rushing yards between the two. Jennings should feast on a defense that generous, especially given how many carries he is receiving. A 125-yard, 1-2 TD outing is definitely in the realm of possibility.

Andre Ellington (avg. 9.37 SPPG): Along with Vikings WR Cordarrelle Patterson, no one receive more preseason fantasy hype than Andre Ellington. I was one of many who built him up to Olympian heights in anticipation of some monumental breakout season. I'm still convinced it's going to happen, it just hasn't yet. Ellington has been playing through a leg injury, limiting his effectiveness carrying the ball and running routes out of the backfield. Coming off a bye and facing the Broncos this week, I'm feeling that same giddy sensation that overtook me and plenty of others who watched Ellington highlights from last year and projected that to this season when given more carries. Denver has seen Knile Davis and Marshawn Lynch tear through their defense in their last two games, so just imagine what a more explosive back like Ellington can do, especially now that he had an extra week to heal up. Expect big things out of the little guy in Week 5.

Minus-Rated Play
Alfred Morris (avg. 13.45 SPPG): You're probably going to still start him if you have him, but don't expect much. Morris is a high-volume back who usually hovers in the high-4's in terms of YPC. This usually makes up the components of a reliable fantasy back. Well, his 3-catch performance last week aside, Morris is an absolute zero in the passing game and not a guarantee to score even when his team gets in the red zone. Against Seattle's front seven (can't forget about Kam Chancellor too), Morris may find himself working with very little running room. Compound that with star LT Trent Williams being banged up if he does indeed suit up for the game, and Morris owners should begin preparing for a single-digit game if they decide to stick with him.

Wide Receivers
Plus-Rated Play
Reggie Wayne & T.Y. Hilton (avg. 12.05 & 10.15 SPPG): Aside from being fortunate enough to have the ball thrown to them by the immortal Andrew Luck, these two WR's should be the featured stars in a potential shootout with the Baltimore Ravens. Steve Smith and Reggie Wanye will be competing for the title of "best old wide receiver in the NFL" while Torrey Smith and T.Y. Hilton compete for the title of "most dynamic young wide receiver ignored by their own team in favor of a past-his-prime veteran". Really, I like all the wideouts in this game to put up some big numbers. I'm more fond of the Indy duo, however, because Luck is just on a different level right now and the Colts truly have no running game whatsoever. At least the Ravens are getting decent production from a couple no-name backs. T-Rich is still hitting holes slower than it takes Big Papi to round the bases following a home run, and Ahmad Bradshaw's feet/ankles disintegrate a little more with each passing day. Start either of the above WR's as strong WR3 plays with WR2 upside.

Minus-Rated Play
Wes Welker (9.00 SP in 1 game this season): I'm just not convinced the concussion issues have 100% gone away. Also, has anyone considered that the best white WR of the last decade is finally declining physically? Maybe we have just finally reached the point where even that glorious route-running ability of his can't make up for the significant loss of burst and acceleration? It's not really clear whether that is the case or not yet, but Week 5 won't help in determining the answer. Welker should see plenty of the Honey Badger, who is still recovering from knee surgery. 85-90% Honey Badger is still a problem for Wes, as Mathieu is a stud in terms of covering the slot. Also, I see Peyton sticking to his relentless targeting of his top 3 weapons, the Terrifying Thomas Towers and Emmanuel Sanders. Don't feel compelled to start Welker because of the big-name recognition thing. Wes still has a nose for the end zone, but aside from the possible score, I don't feel a big reception/yards game coming his way this week.

Was it just me or did this post not really work for you? Well, at least I gave it a shot. It wouldn't be the first idea I scrapped, just the first one I published after deciding it won't stick. Next week I'm back to my Tuesday recaps, only more fantasy sprinkled in. Oh, and apologies to anyone who was upset at the absence of a Week 5 College Football Shoutouts post. I hope my Week 6 preview makes up for it. I believe it will, BIG week ahead in the world of collegiate football. Get. Hyped.