I'll also be taking another run at a BL Rag Fantasy Football League this year, but unlike last year, this one will be done auction style and include 20 teams... not exactly everybody's cup of tea, until they try it their first time. The league is likely to fill up closer to draft time, which is tonight (Thursday, September 2, 2010) at 10:00 PM ET / 9:00 PM CT, so sign up early to secure your spot.
Draft along while you listen to your favorite team play their final pre-season game or Sirius radio, or any team for that matter. You shouldn't have trouble finding one tonight considering that literally every team is playing tonight:
| Thu, Sep 02 | Stadium | Time (ET) | Tickets | SIRIUS | |||
| BUF @ DET | Ford Field | 6:30 PM | Tickets | 125 (DET) | |||
| CIN @ IND | Lucas Oil Stadium | 7:00 PM | Tickets | 126 (IND) | |||
| NE @ NYG | New Meadowlands Stadium | 7:00 PM | Tickets | 157 (NE) 124 (NYG) | |||
| ATL @ JAC | Jacksonville Municipal Stadium | 7:30 PM | Tickets | 158 (JAC) | |||
| CAR @ PIT | Heinz Field | 7:30 PM | Tickets | 121 (PIT) | |||
| NYJ @ PHI | Lincoln Financial Field | 7:30 PM | Tickets | 127 (PHI) | |||
| BAL @ STL | Edward Jones Dome | 8:00 PM | Tickets | 91 (STL) | |||
| CHI @ CLE | Cleveland Browns Stadium | 8:00 PM | Tickets | 156 (CLE) | |||
| DEN @ MIN | Mall of America Field | 8:00 PM | Tickets | 154 (MIN) | |||
| GB @ KC | Arrowhead Stadium | 8:00 PM | Tickets | 155 (GB) 147 (KC) | |||
| MIA @ DAL | Cowboys Stadium | 8:00 PM | Tickets | 130 (DAL) | |||
| NO @ TEN | LP Field | 8:00 PM | Tickets | 122 (NO) | |||
| TB @ HOU | Reliant Stadium | 8:00 PM | Tickets | 161 (HOU) | |||
| SD @ SF | Candlestick Park | 10:00 PM | Tickets | 126 (SF) | |||
| SEA @ OAK | Oakland Coliseum | 10:00 PM | Tickets | 125 (OAK) | |||
| WAS @ ARI | University of Phoenix Stadium | 10:00 PM | Tickets | 124 (ARI) |
So LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, Chris Bosh and the often unsaid figure at the helm, legendary coach Pat Riley... not a bad start to the season for any team.
]]>Here are the scenarios for each team advancing for groups that have completed two games. Click here for group standings. Here are tiebreakers if teams finish even on points:
1. Goal differential.
2. Goals scored.
3. Head to head (if there are three teams tied, then results between three teams are calculated with the first two criteria).
4. Draw of lots
Uruguay advances with:
(a) Wins group with win or tie versus Mexico
(b) Loss and France-South Africa tie
(c) Loss and winner of France-South Africa does not make up tiebreakers
Mexico advances with:
(a) Win group with win versus Uruguay
(b) Tie versus Uruguay
(c) Loss and France-South Africa tie
(d) Loss and winner of France-South Africa doesn't make up tiebreaker
France/South Africa advance with:
(a) Win and and make up tiebreaker on loser of Mexico-Uruguay
(b) Both are out with a tie or a Mexico-Uruguay tie
Argentina advances with:
(a) Win or tie versus Greece
(b) South Korea tie/loss versus Nigeria
(c) Loss as long as both South Korea and Greece do not make up tiebreakers
South Korea advances with:
(a) Win versus Nigeria and Greece does not either (1) win by greater margin, or (2) win by same margin and score 2+ more goals
(b) Tie and Greece tie/loss
Greece advances with:
(a) Win versus Argentina and South Korea tie/loss
(b) Win by greater margin than South Korea
(c) Win by same margin as South Korea and score 2+ more goals
(d) Tie and South Korea loss
(e) Win by 3+ goals
Nigeria advances with:
a) Win versus South Korea and Argentina win
USA advances with:
(a) Win versus Algeria on Wednesday
(b) Tie and Slovenia-England tie IF England does not outscore USA by 2+ goals
(c) Tie and England loss
Slovenia advances with:
(a) Win or tie versus England
(b) Loss AND USA tie vs Algeria
(c) Loss and Algeria win as long as Algeria doesn't make up tiebreakers*
England advances with:
(a) Win versus Slovenia
(b) Tie AND USA-Algeria tie AND outscore USA by 3 goals
Algeria advances with:
(a) Win versus USA AND Slovenia win/tie versus England
(b) Win versus USA AND Slovenia loss versus England AND makes up tiebreakers on Slovenia
Note: If the U.S. draws with Algeria and England draws with Slovenia, and England scores exactly two more goals than the U.S., the U.S. and England would be even on all tiebreakers for second place. The tie would be broken by drawing lots ... aka, a coin flip.
The simplest scenarios are that Ghana, Germany and Serbia all advance with a win. Australia must win and get help.
Ghana advances with:
(a) Win or tie versus Germany
(b) Loss and Australia-Serbia tie IF Serbia does not make up tiebreakers
(c) Loss and Australia win IF Australia does not make up tiebreakers (Australia is way behind on goal differential)
Germany advances with:
(a) Win versus Ghana
(b) Tie and Serbia-Australia tie IF Serbia does not make up tiebreakers
(c) Tie and Australia win IF Australia does not make up tiebreakers
Serbia advances with:
(a) Win versus Australia
(b) Tie and Ghana win
(c) Tie and Ghana-Germany tie AND make up tiebreakers on Germany
Australia advances with:
(a) Win versus Serbia and Ghana win
(b) Win and Germany win and make up tiebreakers on Ghana
(c) Win and Ghana-Germany tie and make up tiebreakers on Germany (not likely)
Netherlands has advanced. Netherlands wins the group with:
(a) Win or a tie versus Cameroon
(b) Loss AND a Denmark-Japan tie
(c) Loss IF the Denmark-Japan winner does not make up tiebreakers
Japan advances with:
(a) Win or tie versus Denmark
Japan wins group with:
(a) Win AND a Netherlands loss AND by making up tiebreakers on Netherlands
Denmark advances with:
(a) Win versus Japan
Denmark wins group with:
(a) Win AND a Netherlands loss AND by making up tiebreakers on Netherlands
Cameroon has been eliminated.
Paraguay advances with:
(a) Win/tie versus New Zealand
(b) Loss AND Italy tie verus Slovakia
(c) Loss and Slovakia win as long as Slovakia doesn't make up tiebreakers
Italy advances with:
(a) Win versus Slovakia
(b) Tie and New Zealand loss
(c) Tie AND Paraguay-New Zealand tie IF Italy outscores New Zealand
New Zealand advances with:
(a) Win versus Paraguay
(b) Tie AND Italy-Slovakia tie IF New Zealand outscores Italy
Slovakia advances with:
(a) Win versus Italy AND Paraguay win/tie versus New Zealand
(b) Win versus Italy AND Paraguay loss versus New Zealand AND make up tiebreakers versus Paraguay
Brazil has advanced. Wins group with:
(a) Win or tie versus Portugal
Portugal advances with:
(a) Win or tie versus Brazil
(b) Loss IF Ivory Coast does not win AND make up goal difference
Ivory Coast advances with:
(a) Win versus North Korea AND Portugal loss AND make up goal difference
North Korea has been eliminated.
Chile advances with:
(a) Win or tie versus Spain (also wins group)
(b) Loss and Switzerland tie or loss
(c) Loss and Switzerland win and maintain tiebreakers over Switzerland
Spain advances with:
(a) Win versus Chile
(b) Tie and Switzerland tie or loss
(c) Loss and Honduras win and maintain tiebreakers over Switzerland and Honduras
Switzerland advances with:
(a) Win and Spain tie or loss
(b) Win and Spain win and make up tiebreakers on Chile
(c) Tie and Spain loss
(d) Loss and Spain loss and hold tiebreakers over Spain and Honduras
Honduras advances with:
(a) Win and Chile win and make up tiebreakers on Spain and Switzerland
;)
Big congrats to Skinny for winning this year's BLRag group contest in ESPN's Tournament Challenge. (click the image to enlarge)
He and Tijuana earn one year's worth of bragging rights where college basketball is concerned; their results placed in the top 5% of the 4.5 million folks who entered ESPN's contest. Well done!
]]>;)
I stumbled across a site that any baseball-fan geek will love. Flip Flop Fly Ball provides visuals for all sorts of baseball data, from players' last names to "the best state to watch the most live baseball." I've given you one sample--his Venn diagram of major league team names--to the left; click on the image to see it at full size.
Seriously, this guy has done some really NICE stuff...his timeline of major league history is amazing. Check it out.
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With Kansas' early exit, it looks like Skinny and I will settle things in the Final Four - should both Duke and Kentucky advance. Tijuana still has an outside shot to join us on the medal stand.
Bring your best stuff in the comments...
]]>Go Jayhawks!
]]>Kansas City Chiefs (4-12). Kansas City won a game? How the H - E double toothpicks did that happen? Oh, yeah. They played Denver, Oakland and Pittsburgh. I don't know who the fourth win came against but it is certain that team was having an off day too. KC spent all its money on a one-season wonder, Cassell, in what will become known as the New England Three Card Monte trade. At the end of the deal, KC had Cassell (who promptly missed about 12 games due to injury), Denver got Kyle Orton (who?) and a second, first round draft pick (which they quickly wasted on Knowrun Moreno), and the Chicago Bears ended up with the Pride of Vanderbilt, Jay "Did I Just Throw the Ball To the Defender Again" Cutler. Ugh! KC is rumored to be looking to Notre Dame's newly fired coach Weiss for leadership and holy communion during halftime. KC didn't have a prayer in 2009 and they won't have one in 2010 either.
Oakland Raiders (5-11). The Silver and Black must snort drugs before, during, and after the game. Over the past ten years no team has had more futility in the draft and on the field than the Raiders. Sure they went to Super Bowl about five years ago and they had a great QB in Guns Gannon and great receivers. Now they have a first-rounder QB that needs psycho-therapy just to put his pants on, they have a coach that teaches smash mouth football by smashing the other coaches in the mouth, and they have an owner who wears more bling than Mr. T. Admittedly, Al Davis helped make the NFL what it is today. But those guady necklaces he wears are putting a terrible strain on his frontal lobes. It's time for Al to retire and give the team to one of his out of work relatives
Tennessee Titans (8-8). These guys almost pulled off the miracle of the century. Last year the TTs had the best record in the AFC. In the 2009 playoffs, they forgot how to score a lousy 20 points and fell to Baltimore at home no less, (can you believe it?). Kerry Collins, the best QB noone ever heard of became a head case. He started out that way in Carolina. Showed some sign of sanity while at Oakland. Played great for the NY Giants, and then, and then, and then last year's playoff game. He hasn't been the same since playing like a dead fish and leading the TTs to an 0-6 start this season. But it wasn't the TTs other nut-case QB that saved the day, it was Chris Johnson, only the sixth runningback in NFL history to surpass 2,000 rushing yards in a season. Now that is something to build on. With Johnson carrying the load and a defense that stopped playing tiddley winks, the TTS finished the last part of the season 8-2. Wow! All Tennessee needs is to teach its players to stay away from underaged hookers, all night clubs, and guns (apparently the whole team has been visited by the ghost of Elvis) and they will be right back in the hunt for 2010.
Miami Dolphins (7-9). Dave Barry wrote that Miami spelled backwards reads "I Maim." Too funny because that is how they played and usually the 'Fins were on the receiving end of the maiming. Did anyone see Pat White get creamed in the last game of the season? OUCH! The fish that are really mammals and not he blue-green ones without a blow-hole... oh, it's no use 'splainin' this to football people. The Dolphins lost their starting QB (Pennington) in the first game and everyone else that was worth a hoot in the games that followed. By the end of the season the only starter left standing was Ricky "Rastaman" Williams. He should have been injured but was too high to notice. The coach had to throw out the playbook and opt for the Wildcat formation, a bastardized version of the triple option. The way it works is three guys line up behind center, the center hikes the ball to the guard who gives it to the wide receiver who laterals it to the runningback who throws it downfield to the quarterback. Yes, Miami revived sandlot football for fun and amusement. They'll get back on track next year and supplant the NY Jetsons in the playoffs.
To be continued...
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