411 Sports Fact or Fiction 06.26.08: Fresno State, Curt Schilling, Pacman No Longer Pacman and More

Posted by Ken Schmidt on 06.26.2008

This week we have the tiebreaker between Garmer and Bayani as well as a full match-up between Sat and Jerome Cusson.

We are back again with the exciting conclusion of last weeks showdown between Bayani Domingo and Sean Garmer. We are going into extra innings in this one and we must have a winner. Following the tiebreak question we will have another first round match-up between two multi-zoners in the first round.

In the red corner, we have a man who loves wrestling, loves sports, and loves the Astros. You can catch him in the wrestling zone where he battles Uncle Trunx when they decide whether to take the High Road or Low Road. It is Sat

And in the blue corner another wrestling fan, who also loves sports and the White Sox. You might know him better from his reviews of South Park, Friends, and Futurama but most recently can you read his tribute to a true comedy legend George Carlin.

Ladies and Gentleman: LET'S GET READY TO RESEARCH

With the score knotted at 6-6 here is the continuation of last week with the final question between Bayani and Garmer.


TIEBREAKER: With the first overall pick in your up coming fantasy football draft you would take Adrian Peterson

Bayani Domingo FICTION: I'm working under the premise that we're talking about Adrian "All Day" Peterson of the Minnesota Vikings and not Adrian "Too bad somebody tipped off the cops about Cedric's boat party *wink wink*" Peterson of the Chicago Bears. Even so I think this is a fairly tricky question as it really all depends on the format of the league. Last year when I finished with the best record in the 411 Staff league (until Tom Brady's clunker vs the Jets cost me in the semi's) it was due largely to throwing TD's being worth as much as rushing and receiving TD's…and owning Tom Brady of course. In a case like that you might consider Brady or even Peyton Manning as a candidate for the top spot where QB's will end up out pointing RB's by a vast margin. If you're in a "Points per Reception" league then Brian Westbrook would also be a viable candidate since his 90 or so receptions would make up a lot of ground to Tomlinson and would blow away AP…or is it AD, when you add the extra 60 or 70 pts he'd probably get by the end of the season…that would equate to 10+ TD's by the way. If we're going to go by the standard Yahoo or ESPN format then really this comes down to the RB's with the #1 pick. If you are filling out your "Cheat Sheet" then you probably have the same 5 names at the top in some order: Tomlinson, Peterson, Addai, S.Jackson, and Westbrook. If it's me picking I go with LT any day of the week.

My draft strategy boils down to a few things if I have a pick close to the beginning of the round: Consistency. You don't win your fantasy football league in the first round (See: Tom Brady, Braylon Edwards, MBIII, AD, etc) but you can often lose it due to a poor pick (i.e. injury risk, fluke season, bad luck, etc.). When you are drafting with the first pick you go for not only a homerun hitter, but a guy you can plug into your line-up and only have to look at once a season when his team is on a "Bye". For me that guys is LT. He's been a model of consistency of the years, he's never benched due to attitude problems, is rarely injured, and is able to score by every means possible on the field. Facing a tough run stuffing D-Line? No problem, the guy can catch the ball out of the backfield. Facing a tough linebacking core that shadows the RB well on screens? No problem, the guy can even THROW a TD or two. The best part is LT can run it in from mid-field and doesn't get taken out at the goal-line. The man finds more ways to score than Jeff Hardy at a high school rave. (really that joke can go one of two ways) The guy is a BEAST in fantasy and you just can never feel badly about coming away with the guy at the end of your draft. Really the only knock on LT is that Lorenzo Neal won't be blocking for him anymore, but I doubt that will seriously affect him as much as people think. Remember that Neal was injured the last 4 weeks of the season and LT got at least 100 yards and a score in every game except for the season finale that he didn't finish anyways. But for that one knock, remember that Michael Turner who had been stealing a good amount of touches from LT is how a Falcon and while Darren Sproles is a nice little speedster, he's no Turner and LT is in no danger of losing more than a few touches a game to him. Which brings me to AD…AP….ADP? Damn it.

Peterson's greatest appeal to most fantasy footballers (not Futbol-ers) this season is that he was amazing as a rookie in limited time and he should only be better this season, right? Well…perhaps. Peterson in my opinion reminds me a lot of Eric Dickerson in his prime…well at least during his LA Ram days, the upright style of running, the speed and strength combo, and his amazing rookie season really are reminiscent of ED. The player…not that thing you take pills for. The fact is that Dickerson actually got better rushing totals his second season, even if his scoring numbers dipped, so there is some precedence for AD being able to improve on his rookie season. The difference between them is that Peterson now has an injury history. He was hurt in college and got hurt again his rookie season. Not to say he's "injury prome", but you have to take that into consideration. What really raises a red flag for me is the difference in personnel on each team. I also look at the QB situation and I'm not sure that I want to depend on Tarvaris Jackson being able to keep 8 or even 9 men out of the box every play. If Tarvaris doesn't pan out then you're left with Frerotte and Booty. On the plus side the Vikes O-Line is tremendous and their Defense will give them plenty of opportunities to get the ball. They also have an emerging Sidney Rice and Bernard Berrian, but neither is really a proven commodity yet. In LT's favor is a Pro Bowl level QB and Tight End. Don't forget that Chester Taylor is also lurking to take away carries from AD, the guy is a very capable back and I can't imagine that he won't play prominantly in keeping AD fresh and possibily vulturing important goal line looks and late game touches not to mention that AD isn't the receiving threat Taylor is (only one rec TD for AD). Lastly, there were just too many games that AD disappeared in that was largely forgotten because of the handful of monster games he had. You don't win based on a "cumulative score", you need consistency every week, THAT is what LT gives you. There are just too many variables with Peterson in my opinion and even though I would seriously consider him with a #2 and I'd probably bite on him as a #3 I just can't turn my back on Tomlinson's sterling track record. I know that AD's talent can not be denied or questioned, but for me he hasn't proven he can dominate over an entire season yet (just look at his last 4 games after coming back from injury) OR stay healthy over an entire NFL season to warrant the top pick. Next year might be a different story, but for this year the pick for me is still LT.

Sean Garmer FICTION: Obviously, Running Back is the most sought after position in Fantasy Football. They are your instant scorers, and this is damn hard question to answer. The basis I'm using here is that Adrian Peterson has played one season in this league and as he proved last season and in his time at Oklahoma he is injury prone. That is a major concern if you are counting on him to be a big contributor. I had Adrian Peterson in my eight-team league on ESPN and won the league with him. He was certainly a major part of that, but I also had Larry Fitzgerald, Brian Westbrook, Peyton Manning, and Ryan Grant in my squad as well. Actually, in the 411 league no one that had Adrian Peterson was even in the playoffs, while Bayani got 3rd with LT, and in fact, the winner had Chester Taylor on his squad. Peterson is going to be a star in this league there is no doubt about that, but he is not the one man team that LT or Brian Westbrook are at this point. You could even make a case that maybe if Chester Taylor got a few more carries he could have gotten 1,000 yards last season too. It is astonishing that Westbrook has played his best these last two seasons when the NFC East has been at its best. He's averaged at least 1,200 yards rushing and 700 receiving these past two seasons, with a combined 12 touchdowns last season. Peterson only had eight more yards and three more touchdowns then Westbrook. We all know touchdowns are what matter most but Westbrook is the offense in Philly and he is a threat from anywhere, so is Peterson, but Westbrook and LT catch the ball out of the backfield and can go run routes too. Now, Peterson could get most of the carries this year and be the offense, especially considering that the Vikings are poor at the QB position. There was no way LT was going to repeat his phenomenal season that he had the previous year, but he has been consistent and that is what is most important. Though Westbrook has only been a Fantasy Football stalwart these past two seasons, and both LT and Westbrook are approaching 29, I would bet on them to have at least one or two more great seasons. Westbrook seems to be hitting his prime too.

LT has a capable backup in Darren Sproles, he's nowhere near the reliable Chester Taylor but he could serve to keep LT fresh when needed. Westbrook doesn't have that at all, but because he so versatile he can make up for it. My concern is at the end of the season when Westbrook and LT seemed to pick up their game and Peterson's started to dwindle. He put up three yards rushing against San Francisco, 78 yards the next game, 27 yards, and 36 to finish it out. Granted he got 116 yards the game he returned from injury but that right there puzzles you. No doubt he was dealing with his injury still. The Vikings don't have too many games against teams that sucked defensively last season either. They play Carolina, Detroit twice, New Orleans Atlanta and Arizona. Three of those games are at the end of the season. He faces the possibility of getting worn down. Westbrook gets to play his favorite NFC East team the Cowboys twice where he seems to play well in at least one of the games every season. Arizona, Cleveland, St. Louis, San Francisco, Cincy, Atlanta, and Baltimore who was on and off last season on defense. LT gets Oakland and KC twice who he always seems to do well against. He also gets to play Atlanta, Carolina, Jets, Miami (who can be a liability defensively, and New Orleans. I don't know, things just don't seemed to be stacked in AP's favor this year. You can't go wrong with either of these three backs though, I just need one more great year from AP to say he should be picked #1.

Scoring

Ken Schmidt This one was really tough for me to score and as much as I was sure Bayani was going to win I have to give the match to Garmer here. He did his research to who each back would be playing game in and game out as well as touching upon Westbrook being a viable option on par with AP and LT. Who the hell is AD by the way? And to that regard when did we all get so lazy that we have to use initials instead of spelling out the names? Oh well I give this point to Garmer in the first OT.

Dan Owen First off, hats off to you guys, this was a true battle of the titans. Both of you guys brought your A game, but I'm going to give this point to Garmer. It was a good call by you to look ahead at the schedules, because in reality that may be what separates LT and AP this season. I think given the fact that LT appears to have a lighter schedule defensive wise, he might be the number one guy.


1. Adam Jones dropping his Pacman nickname is the first sign of him turning his life around and maturing.

Sat FICTION While it is nice to see that he is trying to turn his life around, I just don't think that dropping the nickname 'Pacman' is going to make him a better person. And if people actually believe that him dropping the nickname 'Pacman' is the first sign of him turning his life around, then they are seriously mistaken. To turn his life around and to become more mature, he needs to keep his focus on changing his lifestyle and maintaining the new lifestyle. He is not going to turn his life around by dropping his nickname.

Jerome Cusson FICTION: Changing your name does not equal a change in your life. How about going a year without being arrested or talked to by police? How about not going to strip clubs? How about apologizing to the man who was paralyzed last February in Las Vegas? If he does those things, that's the only way people will gain any sort of confidence in him. Oh, and the guy actually has to produce on the field too. If he doesn't produce, then there's no reason for anyone to want him on their team anyway.

Scoring

Ken Schmidt Though both men touched on my opinions I am going to give the point to Jerome Cusson for one comment. HOW ABOUT NOT GOING TO STRIP CLUBS! I still don't understand that this guy continues to go to clubs where he CAN and DOES get in trouble.

Dan Owen I actually disagree with you both. True, dropping a nickname doesn't turn your life around, but it does signify an attempt to start anew, which is what the question was, not if it is actually changing his life. I'm going to give the point to Sat because I like what he said a little bit more, but I really think you guys both missed the boat on this question.


2. Fresno State is the biggest successful underdog story in college sports this decade.

Sat FACT The hardest part about this question is that you might have missed a team that could be a potential underdog. I thought about this for awhile and I really could not think about another team. So, here is the case for why Fresno State is the most successful underdog in college sports. A recent example of their success has an underdog would be them making it to the College World Series finals as a fourth seed. To get to this point, they recently beat the favored number two seed in North Carolina. And now they have to take Georgia with a battered pitching staff. I think that the thing that really makes Fresno State the most successful underdog story in college sports is their football program. The Bulldogs continually goes out there and schedules tough out of conference games against BCS teams and they also are willing to play them on the road. Scheduling these matches does not make them a successful underdog; it is the fact that they are 10-8 against the BCS teams that they have faced. If scheduling tough games and winning over 50% them does not make you a successful underdog, then I do not know what does.

Jerome Cusson FICTION: Fresno State is a great program, but they don't have even two of the biggest upsets in college football this decade. Fresno St. took USC to the limit but ultimately lost. Boise St. was a Division II and Division I-AA school just a few years ago. Then they go out and beat the legendary Oklahoma program in a BCS bowl game. Their college basketball team made the tournament last year, and they won the WAC Commissioner's Cup in just their seventh year in the conference. Boise St. and Fresno St. are very similar programs in how they conduct themselves, but the fact that Boise St. has won a BCS bowl game, and have gone from Division II to being at the top of a conference in Division I means they're the true best underdog story. And don't forget that Boise is one of the smallest cities in the United States to have a college in their location.

Scoring

Ken Schmidt Ok you guys are missing the biggest current event here and the basis of the question. First, Fresno St. is a great story in football but you are missing history being made in another sport. Fresno St. not only made it to the College World Series as an unranked team but they beat the number one squad to get into the championship and played really well against the much stronger Georgia Bulldogs. Point to Sat on this one for at least acknowledging the baseball portion.

Dan Owen The point goes to Jerome. I was all set to give the point to Sat, but I hadn't even remembered about Boise State. Their Bowl Game against Oklahoma was truly one of greatest Bowl Games in recent history. A true David versus Goliath kind of game with one of the most memorable endings ever.


3. Spain will win the 2008 Euros.

Sat FICTION Turkey basically has no shot to win the 2008 Euros because of some injuries and these injuries are to some major players. So, Spain basically has a one in three chance of winning the 2008 Euros. But, the other factors are not so favorable for Spain. First, Germany is favored to win the 2008 Euros, so that makes Spain an underdog, so they are going to have to beat a good team. Now if this was the only thing that was not favoring Spain, I would say that Spain had a shot, but there is more. The second point is that they are playing Russia who they have beaten earlier. But, Russia is better now then they were then and the game that Russia lost earlier would have been closer had one of the goals gone in that hit the crossbar. Finally, Spain is coming off such a high of finally defeating Italy that they are likely to come out flat. So, I think that there is too much stuff stacked against Spain, so I will say Fiction.

Jerome Cusson FICTION: I think the fact that Germany is still around makes this an easy fiction for me. The thing about the Euro Cup that's shocked the heck out of me is how a team like the Neitherlands was able to cruise into the quarterfinals, only to then lose to Russia. Turkey is a team on a roll and despite the injuries, they've showed a lot of heart in this tournament. I just can't see Spain beating a hot Russia team once again, then beating a highly motivated Turkey or heavily favored Germany.

Scoring

Ken Schmidt You fellows disappoint me here going with the odds and just saying that the odds are someone else will win. I give the point to Cusson on this one for picking a team he likes more, even though Ballack and the boys are struggling against Turkey as this is being written (even though they pulled it off).

Dan Owen Jerome takes this question as well. You guys both said roughly the same thing, but Sat, you can't forget about Turkey. True, they are not considered a favorite because of all of the injuries and suspensions they have suffered, but they are incredibly hot, and if they do manage to get past Germany they are going to be ridiculously hot.

That's the first half, let's switch places and do it again with Jerome up 4-2


4. The NHL draft is the most boring of all entry drafts in the major 4 American sports.

Jerome Cusson FACT To me, all drafts are quite boring considering it's just a bunch of guys in suits going up to a stage and putting on hats while taking pictures with jerseys. Unlike the NFL and NBA, where we can at least identify the college players that have gone to schools in the United States, we don't get that bonus with the NHL. A lot of the players come from Canada or Europe. Their names tend to be harder to pronounce and since we don't have near the type of coverage of the NHL in this country, the draft is the most boring of all. Thankfully not all the rounds of the baseball draft are televised. Then I'd have a different answer.

Sat FACT I have to agree with Jerome on this one except for one thing and that is all drafts are not boring. The draft is always fun to watch because one unexpected draft pick can really change the entire draft. The two best drafts are definitely the NFL and NBA drafts because we have seen the players play in college. And the first few rounds of the baseball draft are also interesting to watch. I have never had interest in the NHL draft just because I have not heard of these players and who knows how they are going to project at the next level.

Scoring

Ken Schmidt I was hoping that someone would touch upon the fact that the NHL might be boring but atleast it isn't 30 rounds long. Either way, coming from a diehard hockey fan who eats, sleeps and breaths the sport of hockey, even I have to completely agree with Cusson on this one. We don't know the players but at least it is short and sweet.

Dan Owen NFL and NBA drafts being called boring? Blasphemy! Sat takes the question, just like that, since you guys said the same thing.


5. The Chicago Cubs are the best team in the National League.

Jerome Cusson FACT I'm a White Sox fan. For me to say this is very tough to do. But getting to see them everyday, watching them hit and pitch, they're the best team in a weakened NL. I don't care if it costs me, but I'm not complimenting the Cubs anymore.

Sat FACT The Cubs are definitely the best team in the National League right now. They have the best record and are four games clear of the second best team. They have two good starters at the top with Carlos Zambrano and Ryan Dempster and their bullpen is solid. And their hitting has also been solid. Now, the Cubs just have to hope that there is no serious injury to Carlos Zambrano and if it not serious, then that will allow them to stay the best team in the National League.

Scoring

Ken Schmidt God do I respect Cusson for his inability to compliment a team he hates more than he has to but I have to give the point to Sat, even though I respect Jerome for his comments. Neither guys really scratched the surface of what makes the Cubs tick right now (cough, the role players, cough) but at least Sat mentioned the big two pitchers for have been un-hittable early in the season.

Dan Owen Cost you it does, Jerome. Sat wins this question as well, because he at least gave some reasoning behind his "fact". The Cubs are the best team right now, and they're only going to get better as some of their players start to heal up.


6. Curt Schilling SHOULD be in the Hall of Fame.

Jerome Cusson FACT This is an easy call. Based on Schilling's numerous seasons of greatness and based on three World Series victories in the last six years, Curt Schilling absolutely deserves to be in the Hall of Fame. When you look at his regular season statistics, I don't believe 216 victories is enough to be worthy of Hall of Fame status. Then you take a look at the 11-2 record in the playoffs, and I firmly believe this is where he goes over the top as far as balloting goes.

Sat FACT I think that Curt Schilling should be in the Hall of Fame, but it will take him awhile to get into the hall. His regular season statistics are not that great and his post-season stats are good. You cannot put Curt Schilling into the Hall of Fame just based on his post-season stats. I think that thing that will eventually put Curt Schilling in the Hall of Fame is the fact that pitchers are pitching far less than they used to and the fact that pitchers are getting injured more. This basically means that the numbers are no longer comparable. So, basically what I am saying is that in time, Schilling's numbers will be good enough in this era.

Scoring

Ken Schmidt I really hope that my boy Schill gets into the World Series, I really wish he could have won four World Series with three different teams. He was a Joe Carter walk-off away from having a shot at that. Let's face it, with some of the pitchers in the running right now, Schill can't touch the numbers they put up in the 80s and 90s. The wins were not there and the health problems throughout his career but no one touches his post-season career. I give the point to Sat for his thinking outside the box here that 200+ wins might get pitchers in the Hall in a few years, once all the 300 and 400+ winners get in there. Schill will go down in history either way but in this era, he's a member of the top of the class.

Dan Owen I personally will never be okay with Schilling being in the HOF until guys like Bert Blyleven are in. However, you cannot put a guy into the Hall simply because he does well in the playoffs. It can place you in the hearts of fans, but it should not put you into Cooperstown. The Hall is about a career's worth of work, not how you perform in during October for a few years. Sat takes the point.


FINAL SCORE: And the proof is in that you need to play both halves in fact or fiction is in, because after falling behind early Sat comes roaring back in the second half for a 7-5 victory.

First Round	Quarterfinals	Semifinals	FINALS
May 18 James Thomlison vs. Porfirio Diaz	July 13 James Thomlison vs. Dan Schmidt	August 10 ??? vs. ???	August 24 ??? vs. ???
May 25 Dan Schmidt vs. B.L. Anderson
June 1 Geoff Keller vs. Shawn Lealos	July 20 Shawn Lealos vs. Ron Martin
June 8 Ron Martin vs. Jared Marcus
June 15 Sean Garmer vs. Bayani Domingo	July 27 Sean Garmer vs. Sat	August 17 ??? vs. ???
June 22 Jerrome Cusson vs. Sat
June 29 Randy Isbelle vs. Jake Chambers	August 3 ??? vs. ???
July 6 Blake Lovell vs. Larry Csonka

With two match-ups going to finals this week we have both Sean Garmer and Sat moving on to face each other in the quarterfinals. Next week is the second to last first round match-up as my partner looks to move along as we see another showdown between sports writers and wrestling writers. Right now the wrestling nerds are tied in match-ups against the sports nerds 1-1, but the final two match-ups being between the warring gangs, that could all change in a heartbeat.