Fantasy Sports Insurance?

Recently, I watched an interview on ESPN with a man who started a fantasy sports insurance company. In a nutshell, the company will allow fantasy owners to take out insurance policies for players injuries, much in the same way teams do. So you can insure Tom Brady for $20 bucks and if he goes down in week three with another season ending leg injury you collect approximately $200.

This begs the question: why would anyone get into the fantasy sports insurance business? My guess: To make money and capitalize on the passion of sports fans … Simply put, the company has to have an upper hand here or it would not bother supporting this endeavor. So who should buy fantasy sports insurance? It seems this service may only make sense for the crème de la crème of owners who are gambling large sums of money and investing a lot of their own valuable time in their team(s). Much like the real NFL where teams only insure the most expensive players with the largest contracts, for the average fantasy fan, this insurance might not make a lot of sense. Only for those who have a lot to lose.

Who buys it is a personal decision, and not mine to preach about. My interest doesn’t lie in who will be buying, but the ramifications of insurance for the sports world in general. I am convinced by the argument that fantasy sports makes every game more interesting from a fans perspective because it gives people something to root for even when their team is not playing. But with insurance on the table, I wonder whether people’s incentives change? Whether they will root differently or participate as a fan differently? What happens when in week 4 your team is last in your fantasy league and you know you have no chance at getting any of your money back, do you start rooting for LT to go down with a season ending injury just so you can collect on insurance?

Its naïve of me to think that people don’t already root for players to get injured, but there is really no telling how far people will take this thing. What is to say some crazed person doesn’t try to injury a player off the field just to collect on a large insurance payout? Will this happen? Probably not or maybe it is as likely as Brady going down again; I am not an insurance actuary. My point is: fantasy insurance is going to change something in the way fans are involved in sports. I am not convinced the change is necessarily for the better…

Visit the site for yourself at http://fantasysportsinsurance.com/ - Matt Aibel

Roto-Rx

The Doctor is in...

Question #1: Does Michael Vick have any value in this year’s fantasy draft? – Merrill, Montreal, Canada

Merrill: Dr. Roto warns everyone to stay away from the hype with Michael Vick. He should be considered a top backup QB at this time with some upside because of his Wildcat QB potential. Dr. Roto suggests looking at Vick somewhere in the later rounds. Obviously he should be taken earlier if you already have McNabb.

Question #2: What rookie will have the biggest Fantasy impact? – Patrick, Los Angeles, CA

Patrick: Dr. Roto is glad that you added the word fantasy next to the word impact. There is such a big difference. Mark Sanchez is the perfect example of a player that will have a huge football impact on his new team, but not the biggest fantasy impact. Dr. Roto is going to say Donald Brown will have the biggest impact. He plays on a great team with a stud QB, and Addai seems to be on the downswing.

Question #3: What’s harder to win, a head to head league, or one with points? – Dennis, Blauvelt, NY

Dennis: Both leagues that you mentioned are tough. Head to head is a challenge because you can have a great team and still end up with a losing season if you run into the best team each week. Points leagues are tough because if you have one bad week, it can set you back and ruin your season. The key is to manage your team closely and make sure you are making the right pickups on the waiver wire each week.

Question #4: In fantasy what do you look for when picking a kicker, a good kicker or a bad offense? - Marion, Red Bank, NJ

Marion: Picking a kicker is harder than it appears. First of all, you can't pick a kicker on a team that is too good because if you do, he'll end up with about 6 points a week (one FG and 3 XP). If you pick a kicker on a bad team, then you might get a guy who is good for 3 points. Dr. Roto prefers kickers on relatively good teams whose teams tend to stall in the red zone. Guys that fit that profile are kickers like: Robbie Gould, Jason Elam, and Josh Scobee.

Question #5: Is it worth it to use my first round pick to get a defense if I think I can get the best one out their? – Marcus, Chicago, IL

Marcus: Please, please don't even think of doing that Marcus. In most 20 round drafts, defenses go somewhere from Round 14-20. Dr. Roto likes to wait until Round 16-17 and get the 4th or 5th best defense. By that time, I have loaded up elsewhere (but yet avoid taking a bad defense).

The Doctor is out...

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Mark Bloom (aka Dr. Roto) is the former owner of Roto-Rx, a fantasy website featured in a UPN newscast. He has been an active competitor and commissioner in baseball and football fantasy leagues for close to 20 years winning numerous league titles.

Barkley Wins Starting Job with Golden California Locks

When Matt Barkley was named the Southern Cal starting quarterback on Thursday, nobody was surprised. Even those who had not witnessed a single snap from USC camp, nor had followed the progress of the three-way quarterback competition between Barkley, Aaron Corp and Mitch Mustain. So why did so many people see this one coming? USC has not only produced some of the finest college quarterbacks this decade. They've produced some of the prettiest as well.

From the moment we first saw Barkley's golden hair and determined, photo shoot stare in those Rivals and Scout photos, we knew. It wasn't even fair.

The Trojans have churned out some outstanding quarterbacks this decade. There are some tough acts to follow in that group and as long as the list continues to grow, their successors will face a progressively steeper mountain to climb. Years of exceptional recruiting has gone into compiling such an impressive list of quarterbacks. What's their secret? USC scouts place extra importance on their quarterbacks' looks. And it's paid off.

The benefits of this system go beyond the raw confidence that these quarterbacks bring to the field. There is the influx of female fans that attend games. Calendars and appearances in GQ bring the program some added exposure. It opens up the window for unique team sponsorship opportunities from companies like Bed Head, Banana Boat and others providing products that make up that essential laidback California look.

I'm sure that Barkley's performance in spring practice and, more notably, in camp had a little something to do with his ascension to the top of the depth chart. I am, after all, a realist. But when you have a system that hasn't failed this decade, then why change suit now?

Carson Palmer got things started in 1998. He would go on to win the Heisman Trophy in 2002 and was selected first-overall in the 2003 NFL Draft by the Cincinnati Bengals. He gave new life to the Bengals and was featured in an ill-advised hot dog advertisement.

Next up was Matt Leinart, who took over in 2003 as a sophomore. He won the Heisman Trophy in 2004 and was drafted 10th overall in the 2005 NFL Draft by the Arizona Cardinals. He partied with some ASU girls in a hot tub and dated Paris Hilton since his arrival in the NFL.

John David Booty, who many believed would eventually beat out Leinart once he learned the offense, took the reigns as a junior in 2006 after Leinart's departure. He played two seasons as the Trojans starting quarterback, winning two Rose Bowls. While at SC, his last name prompted some women to get creative in their support of the Trojans.

Then came Mark Sanchez, who, like his predecessors, waited patiently for his opportunity. Sanchez started only one season for the Trojans, winning the Rose Bowl before being selected fifth overall by the New York Jets. He posed for GQ in the offseason.

Matt Barkley will be the first Trojan to start the season opener as a true freshman, meaning he's already made Trojans history. There are a few tough acts he has to follow, but Barkley's obvious talent will make him the face of the USC offense. He also seems to have that unflappable football confidence that makes so many quarterbacks great. Expect to see Barkley under center in the Coliseum for the next few years.

Danny Hobrock is a sports journalist who primarily covers college football and professional baseball. He is a contributor for several sports related blogs and is the former editor of a political and current events website.

How much is enough?

If you were a coach on the field at the Patriots/Redskins game the other day, no matter which sideline you were on, you would’ve asked yourself this questions at least once “Have I’ve seen enough from my starters?” After Albert Haynesworth leveled Tom Brady, and if you were the Redskins Defensive Line coach, the answer must’ve been a resounding YES!

However, if you’re Bill Belichick, you have to be asking yourself today, at what cost do I need to see if Tom can still find the open guy?

And therein lies the dilemma. A head coach is expected to have his team game-ready and prepared opening day. To accomplish that, high priced players are asked to put their bodies in harm’s way in an otherwise meaningless game. And now, for the sake of argument, I present to you the two leading schools of thought on pre-season play.

Position 1: No game is meaningless when people are competing for a job. You see, teams are still completing their roster, and everyone must defend their place on that roster.

Position 2: Are you kidding me?…Tom Brady’s position is not open if Tom is healthy. Period.

Yeah…about that last part “if Tom is healthy”. It seems that there are growing questions about the health of Tom’s shoulder. And the ironic thing is, his place on the roster was not in jeopardy UNTIL he played in Friday’s pre-season game.

So what’s a coach to do? And, how much influence does an owner have on that decision?

Well…that depends. Currently the logic is, they play their professionals regardless of the price tag. Bill Belichick doesn’t have the luxury of depth at the quarterback position, and so one may want to reconsider the loss of value should the starting quarterback go down in an otherwise meaningless game. And let’s not kid ourselves. Owners like Jerry Jones and Dan Snyder are renowned for their meddling in personnel decisions. And don’t think they’re the only owners meddling, every owner does it. Jerry and Dan are simply the two most visible examples. And since owners hold the purse strings, their influence has far-reaching effects. Coaches don’t last as long as they once did because owners want to see immediate results. One risk that didn’t pay off, one costly injury that gave you one bad season, could signal a coaching change. That has to have some effect on the coaches decision, regardless of what they say at those orchestrated press conferences. And today’s coaches aren’t merely coaching men and women. Coaches are now the caretakers of today’s athletes. And today’s athletes aren’t the athletes of days gone by. Today’s athletes are now income generating machines. If a star athlete goes down, owners hear the sound of cash registers slamming shut and they envision rows of empty seats in the stands. So now the cost of injury has some measurable value. Men who had entirely too many accounting classes can actually calculate what an injury costs. And because teams can now calculate the real value of an injury, the days of pre-season (meaningless) football are numbered.

But for today, for now, in this game of risk with so much money on the line, players, coaches and owners are all asking themselves “How much is enough?”

For some may have already given too much. - Paul Moyer

Paul Moyer is an independent contributor from Reading, PA covering NCAA and NFL football.

Philly's Vick Vapor of Smoke

It’s really weird , quirky even.

The Philadelphia Eagles have dominated the Philly sports world since the 1980’s. But in that time frame they have religiously broken the hearts of Philadelphia time and time again . Yet, they always knew that they would have the city wrapped around its logo’s beak.

But times have changed as the Eagles’ next door neighbor, the world champion Philadelphia Phillies, have painted the town red. More over, they have positioned themselves for another championship run with a huge trade and maintaining first place baseball.

In years passed people would be salivating over the beginning of training camp in Bethlehem, PA. Philadelphians tend to go through Eagles withdrawal in the off season.

Not this year!

It’s almost as if the Eagles’ training camp didn’t even exist. It wasn’t on the fans radar screens. For the first time in decades the city didn’t care!

There was only one move that the Eagles had left to win back its city. All the top free agents were gone. They had only one option. Only one name could still the headlines and put the Eagles back on top.

Michael Vick!

The signing of the ex-con sent shockwaves throughout the city; immediately putting all eyes on football’s “gold standard” (as once proclaimed by owner Jeff Lurie).

All of a sudden Philadelphia became Eagleland again. Whether people hated Vick or not, the debates, the conversations, the news coverage, the water cooler talk was all about the Eagles.

That’s just the way they would have it.

What other reason would the Eagles’ take this big risk to bring Vick?

They don’t need a quarterback. They have a superstar in Donovan McNabb. They even have McNabb’s apprentice in Kevin Kolb. Plus, they have a proven back-up in A.J. Feeley.

There was no need for Vick at all.

It’s just a stunt.

The Eagles have become media attention whores who happened to become stale and dry. Ten years of the same old regime seems to do that.

Adding Michael Vick is a desperate move to regain the city which it owned.

Who would have cared about the Eagles-Jaguars MEANINGLESS preseason game otherwise?

Yet droves of national media descended upon Philadelphia on an obscure Thursday night just to cover Michael Vick.

Now, the Eagles have got their wish. All eyes are on them once again. But, as the old saying goes, be careful what you wish for. - Timothy Parker

If Lou Holtz predicts… (in a forest)

Does a betting line make a sound?

Last weekend Speculator in Chief Lou Holtz made a most bold prediction. Notre Dame will play for the championship in 2009!

Yep, you read that right. Notre Dame, who went 6-6 in regular season play in 2008, will be on the field in Pasadena, CA January 7, 2010 in a bid to snatch the BCS Championship trophy from the jaws of the Florida Gators. Leading the charge this year is QB Jimmy Clausen who completed 60.9% of his passes for 3,172 yards (3rd most prolific passing season in school history). Feeling a little better about Lou’s prediction?

Not so fast.

A look at the rest of the numbers tells the entire story.

In 2008, Jimmy Clausen ranked 43rd in passing efficiency. Overall, in 2008 young Jimmy ranked 40th in overall offense. The statistics seem to suggest that having Jimmy NOT throw the ball leads to a much more productive offense. Not the kind of thing that QBs typically include in their sports portfolio.

Defense then?

Well…no. The Notre Dame defense ranked 42nd in the nation in Scoring Defense and 39th in Total Defense overall. Coach Charlie Weis said he does expect to see some improvement in the overall ability of his defense to stop drives and get his offense back on the field. In 2008, Jon Tenuta helped the ND defense allow 61 fewer rushing yards per game in his first year as linebacker coach. Stopping the run and killing a drive is one thing, but in order for Notre Dame to keep their drives alive, they’ll have to run the ball themselves. In 2008, Notre Dame ranked a dismal 100th in the nation in Rushing Offense trailing those powerhouse schools Vanderbilt, La.-Monroe, and Troy.

So how will this team go from relative mediocrity one year, to the pinnacle of their respective sport the next? Recruitment? Inspiration? Congealment?

Nah, Lou Holtz would simply say “I had a hunch-back at Notre Dame”. - Paul Moyer

Paul Moyer is an independent contributor from Reading, PA, covering NCAA and NFL football.

Jacksonville State Looks to UF for Answers, Inspiration

And who better to look to? The Florida Gators are the in crowd. They've won two championships in three years and are led by an angelic quarterback who makes the rest of us look like puppy eating sinners. How did they get to this point? Jacksonville State is looking all the way back to 1984 to find out.
The St. Petersburg Times, in their September 14, 1989 edition, recalled that

"the university's football program channeled money and gifts to players, spied on opponents' practices and maintained slush funds."

As a result, the NCAA banned Florida from appearing on national television and banned them from the postseason. They were also docked scholarships. In total, the Gators were deemed guilty of 107 major NCAA violations.

Jacksonville State has followed suit, albeit not entirely. Just as Florida was banned from appearing in the postseason in the mid-eighties, Jacksonville State has been banned from the postseason in 2009. Unlike the Gators of the mid-eighties, though, Jacksonville State has not committed any NCAA infractions. Instead, their punishment stems from the program's failure to meet the standards set by the NCAA's Academic Progress Report for three consecutive seasons. A national television ban was deemed unnecessary.

Still, JSU may be infatuated with the bad boy tactics that have led some of our nation's top programs to glory, fortune and dominance.

The list is overwhelming.

Several Miami Hurricanes of the early nineties are said to have been paid by a local rapper for scoring touchdowns and making big hits. A couple of Seminoles wide receivers received improper discounts at a clothing store in 1997. There was also the 1994 Foot Locker scandal at FSU and Penn State running back Curtis Enis' $1,100 shopping spree courtesy of an agent. More recently, USC came under scrutiny after the Reggie Bush scandal of 2005 was reported, Alabama was busted for the textbook scandal of 2007 and Florida State's online music history class scandal committed between 2006 and 2007 cost the program 14 wins.

There have been plenty of on the field/in the tunnel brawls amongst the nation's top schools--1971 USC/Notre Dame, 1983 USC/Clemson, 1988 Miami/Notre Dame, 1993 Miami/Colorado, 1997 Ole` Miss/Mississippi State, 1998 Florida/Florida State, 2004 Clemson/South Carolina--not to mention plenty of arrests.

In 2008, Gators backup quarterback Cameron Newton was arrested after he stole a laptop from a fellow student and threw it out of a window after being questioned by police. Newton was the fourth Gator arrested in 2008.

The next step for JSU is to find a bad boy to call their own.

Check! Quarterback Ryan Perrilloux, who transferred to JSU after being kicked off of the LSU football team for constantly violating team rules, has been suspended for violating his new team's rules and will sit out the season opener against Georgia Tech before returning to face Florida State the following week.

When it comes down to it, though, every school has slipped up at some point in their program's history. Even the smaller football programs we never hear about have had issues (Dartmouth and Holy Cross brawled on the same day of the infamous Miami/FIU brawl). Too little attention is given to programs trying to clean up their act, play by the rules and/or set higher standards for their athletes; rather, like suburban housewives reading Us Weekly,we find ourselves enthralled by the latest scandal. - Danny Hobrock

Danny Hobrock is a sports journalist who primarily covers college football and professional baseball. He is a contributor for several sports related blogs and is the former editor of a political and current events website.

The pain and suffering of New York Giants fans

New York Giant fans have endured many hardships over their majestic history. They have seen everything from a crushing loss in the greatest game ever played to the disappointing loss delivered by their hated division foe's the Eagles in the 2008 season. Although there have been many defeats that has left Giant's fans mentally and physically damaged they pale in the shadow of what they have to endure each and every week on fox.

It is no secret that the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants have been rivals since the beginning of time. For 11 of those years Troy Aikman has been at the helm for the Cowboys. So it may come to a surprise for those not in the New York Market that Troy Aikman is the every game announcer for the NY Giants Fox Telecasts. If that wasn't enough they put the most bias New York Hating Play by Play man in the business Joe Buck. Who during the NFL offseason can be found torturing Yankees fans on Fox Saturday Baseball.

I know that FOX has always made questionable moves regarding marketing and promotions. Need I remind you of “That 80’s show”, “Wanda at Large” or “Greg the Bunny”. But this marketing strategy truly baffles the mind; it would be like John Elway doing color commentary for the Raiders or Brett Farve becoming the announcer for Bears games (Although you never know with Brett).

So, why are the ratings so high if the announcers are so bad? Because Giants fans have no other choice, it’s the only way to watch the game!!! It’s a monopoly on the fans sanity and football enjoyment. Isn’t it about time that FOX tried just a little bit to keep the extremely large NY market happy? Instead of ramming terrible coverage down our throats and force us to like it. Seriously, what happened to the good old days of Madden and Summerall?

But the question that really looms inside of each and every Giants fan is; when is this sick and twisted game going to end? I am sorry to say not this year, because the dynamic duo is slated to work their usual games. But don't worry Giants fans there is always the mute button and the occasional CBS, NBC and ESPN coverage. - Joe Amoroso

Roto-Rx.....

Dr. Roto is here to answer your football questions! Let's get right to it as drafts are around the corner and each team is making final cuts...

The Doctor is in...

Question #1: Given his age, his TV show and his new team, is T.O. still an elite fantasy receiver? – Ralph, Miami Gardens, FL

Ralph: Dr. Roto wouldn't call TO elite. How about upper echelon? The pros: playing on a one year contract, playing no huddle alongside Lee Evans. The cons: Dick Jauron, a bad toe, and Trent Edwards. Buyer Beware.

Question #2: Lots of talk about Mark Sanchez in NY, but I think their defense is going to be the story. What do you think about the Jest defense? – Terrence, Provo Utah

Terence: Dr. Roto is a big fan of Sexy Rexy Ryan. However, the J-E-T-S have a very difficult schedule and also have a few players (er, Calvin Pace) who will be out for a spell. Mark Sanchez may have a few three and outs in the beginning which means that the Def will be on the field a lot. Bart Scott was a great addition as was Jim Leonhard. Hope for the best, but expect a rocky start here...

Question #3: I’m thinking Ray Rice is not on anyone’s radar and with a year under his belt and now the ability to pass protect and not have to be taken off the field on 3rd downs, he’s gonna rack up a lot of all-purpose yards both running and catching the ball. Am I crazy? – Paul, Erie, PA

Paul: Here's a secret...Ray Rice is on everyone's radar as an upside sleeper. Dr. Roto hasn't examined you to know if you are crazy or not, but he does think you are on the money with Rice having a breakout season.

Question #4: I pick 2nd in my draft and I’m thinking Maurice Jones Drew. Awful decision? – Joel, Virginia Beach, VA

Joel: MJD is the bomb. Dr. Roto loves him at #2 and would make that pick himself.

Question #5: Is the Ravens defense still special with the loss of the coach and few key players? – Barry, Baltimore, MD

Barry: Dr. Roto would let someone else take the Ravens Def. Lewis is older, Scott is gone, and Rex Ryan is not there to inspire. They will be good for sure, but they won't be great. And in fantasy football...Dr. Roto wants greatness!

The Doctor is out...

Ask Dr. Roto your rotisserie football questions.

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Keep matriculating the ball down the field....

When you have football coaches talking like this on the sidelines, it is amazing people are not more prone to be sesquipedalian.

Remember Marv Levy? I would keep a dictionary with me when I would listen to his pressers just so I could understand what the heck he said! And I loved when he would yell at the referees. Instead of yelling “you !@#$%^&” when a refree made what appeared to be a bad penalty call on his team, he yelled “you overofficious jerk!”

The words in the heading were spoken on the sidelines by Hank Stram during Super Bowl IV, when he became the first coach to wear a microphone during a championship game, one of the many firsts in his career.

Hank Stram was truly a football pioneer. Hank was the first to come up with the moving pocket, an innovation that prevented a lot of less mobile quarterbacks from eating grass every other play.

He was also the first to use the two tight-end formation and the stack defense, but it was his off-field innovations that really contributed to changing the face of football: coach Stram instituted the off season mini-camps and was the first coach to hire a year round strength and conditioning coach....moves which drastically improved the modern game of football, transforming it into a ballet of grace and power instead of brutish hoedown it once was.

Hank Stram had to wait twenty-five years to be inducted to his proper place in Canton, Ohio. Why did it take the winningest coach in the old American Football League so long to be given this honor is beyond me?

In his induction speech, Len Dawson pointed out that Hank Stram did not have the cadre of assistants that is now prevalent in football. Dawson said that coach Stram was both offensive coordinator and quarterback coach, along with being seriously involved with the defense and special teams. He was both a teacher and motivator besides being a coach, and while it can be argued that these are the duties of a coach, sports is becoming so stratified that today a coach as involved as Stram was is comparable to the head of IBM micro-managing the mail room.

Hank Stram was a visionary and one of the true characters of the game. – Mike Cardano

Mike Cardano is the founder of the Around The Horn (Baseball Blogs) and Extra Point (Football Blogs). Mike is also the founder of the fantasy sports games Ultimate Franchise Baseball™ and Ultimate Franchise Football™.