mid-day thoughts

I think Zook has already given up on the season- god this game is painful to watch. Hey, drop those Illini players so you can make room for more tight ends!
How can Sheets have minus 27 yards rushing?! Is it possible to lose points? I think that is a bad omen for me.
Well, I did it. I just bet 100 bucks on Iowa to win today. Nothing like risking 100 to win 6. Is it free money or a foolish wager?
How good is VT this year? They look vulnerable. Or maybe Rutgers is a top 20 team this year.
I really hate the Illinois uniforms. All white jerseys with a sort of orange blob stripe on their pants. Yuck! On the other hand, Rutgers uniforms look pretty decent. Nothing great but certainly better to look at than Illinois. So I guess the better looking team is winning- there is some justice in the world.

Juice

Looking forward to getting a look at Juice. Brasic throws a pick. The time may have already arrived for the Illinois team to make the permanent change ...

a sucker

I am the first sucker to pick-up a tight end this year (insert disgusting sigh here). I must drop Kim Thompson and pick-up Matt Spaeth (0). I assume that no one else is eager to claim him. I guess i'd rather have four catches for 40 yards than a broken foot.

Week 2 Starters

The ridiculously exhausted Fighting Farmers start;
QB Cupito
RB the Plow
RB Ringer
RB Caulcrick
WR Ginn
WR Williams
WR Wheelwright
K Melhoff

Here come the Goodgers

QB Drew Stanton
QB Curtis Painter
RB Mike Hart
RB Albert Young
WR Dorien Bryant
WR Steve Breaston
WR Herb Grigsby
K Kevin Kelly

Spitfires Starters - Week 2

Here we go.....a win this week maybe? Please?!
The Spitfires try to reach .500 for the first time in 3 years!

QB - Anthony Morelli
QB - Mike Kafka
RB - P. J. Hill
RB - Pierre Thomas
WR - Mario Manningham
WR - Jerramy Scott
WR - Jordan Norwood
K - Austin Signor

Week 1 Reflections

After one week, here's an assesment of what happened.

Things generally went well for Bucky's Goodgers. Painter and Stanton put up big points. Gotta feel good about the starting RBs. Mike Hart gets the vast majority of carries. It seems it was only chance that Hart didn't get 1, 2, or even 3 scores. Kevin Grady did look good but he also fumbled. That helps. Albert Young the focus of Iowa offense and Damien Sims doesn't break off an 80 yard TD. The one negative is the Indiana running game -- neither Thigpen or McCray appear ready to take over at Indiana. Dorien Bryant is huge, Steve Breaston has a decent game.

The Fightin' Farmers have to be worried about the QB position. Cupito has a terrible game considering the competition. Put another way, if Cupito can't pass for 200+ yards against Kent State, what opponent will he? Chad Henne looked worse than last year. The Fightin'
Farmers hope clearly came from the Running Back position this past week. Of course, the Plow had to be the story of the BTFFL week. Chris Wells sees playing time and looked good. No reason to think Javon Ringer won't get a ton a work. Tony Hunt's mediocre day is a cause for concern but he did get into the end zone. Ted Ginn had a great day, DWill and the PSU offense looked good.

Oh the Spitfires. Max Powers disappoints, we all know that. At least Anthony Morelli has a good day. Pittman has a good game statistically but Spitz has to be worried about Chris Wells appearance in the game. Illinois running game looks good. Mario Manningham catches a late TD but Herbert and Scott do nothing. PJ Hill a bright spot but doesn't appear to have the kind of ability Calhoun had to carry a fantasy team.

The Golden Goblins have to be excited. They get a huge game out of Troy Smith and a decent game from Drew Tate. Tyrell Sutton has a mediocre outing. If Mike Kafka, or CJ Ba-shay, can't throw the ball down field Sutton could have trouble all year. Kory Sheets has a bigger game than anyone imagined possible -- could Tiller actually utilize a feature back this year? James Hardy does okay but Max Powers could be looking to screw up more than one team. Butler looks good right out of the gate.

The Blue Ox

This Week's Pick'em games


Oregon State- b/c the shine is off BSU
Pitt- they are on the rise!
VT- NC stinks...again
Rutgers- Could be their best season 34-30
Michigan-Not impressive last week- Carr's last season 38-10
Missouri- I just hate Ole Miss.
Army- Kent State cannot recover from the gopher beat down
Penn State- Notre Dame is overrated - should have lost to GT 27-24
Wisconsin- Talk about a soft schedule 56-7
BC- This could be the game of the week- I'm on the fence- went with the home team
Michigan State- Beat Idaho by 7- what a joke! 31-13
Wash. State- Idaho is not that good, MSU is a sinking ship
CSU- Co. lost to Montana St.(ha ha) so the the smart pick is Co. this week but I am not that smart
LSU- AZ. continues to baffle and disappoint me
CAL- Mn should stay fairly close as Cal is clearly overrated but in the end the Mn D is still Wackerish. I like Cal 41-27. Take my advice and visit tradesports.com and buy all the Cal you can afford.
Georgia- SC needs another year
Ohio State- Should have won last year- smith plays entire game this time- worried about OSU D 26-24
Texas Tech- UTEP has poor D
Oregon- could be close
Northwestern- 35-14 - I know nothing about NH
No. Texas- B/c I like North in their name
BYU- It's the safe pick
Purdue- No D lots of O- 34-20
Iowa State- They will play better this week...I hope
Indiana- 23-21 I do not think Indy has made any progress and the Powers mystery injury will hurt their O. An upset here would not surprise me.

The Blue Ox

The BlueOx

Blake scheduled to play for Spitz this week

I was unaware of this, but apparently the luck of the Spitfires continues with the injury to Blake Powers.

Ho-hum, Jay was right....AGAIN.....I really should have taken Ted Ginn instead of Powers. Well, hopefully P.J. Hill will go for 200 and 4 scores against W. Illinois. Ah, who am I kidding...I'm screwed aren't I?

C'mon Guys! Who's Disappeared now?

No posts, no picks for the pick 'em, nothing? I work 11 hours today, throw me a bone. It's only 8:00 and I'm already desperate for some Big Ten football discussion. Oooh, I know what I'll do. I'll add more elements to the pick 'em contest.

Where is the Commish?

I'm not one to talk when it comes to periodic dropping out of sight but has the Spitfires week one performance dampened our intrepid commissioner's excitement so much that the web site he so diligantly improved and set up prior to the season has gone fallow so quickly? This is a man that made real football helmets for each fantasy team in the league over the summer, rounded up a PA system for the draft and did at least 18 mock drafts to prepare. Yet the web site still shows each team with 0-0 records. I'm worried!

Goodgers in Post Season Form

Bucky Beatwriter

Bucky's Goodgers flexed their muscles a bit on the opening weekend of the BTFFL season. The champions three years running appeared to not miss a beat from last season's squad. Curtis Painter looked to take over the leadership of this team with a 32 point output, other returning players seem to set to push for a 4th Blue Ox Bowl Title, including Dorien Bryant, Albert Young, Drew Stanton and Mike Hart.

"It is only the first game," coach Wendelberger told reporters after the game, "but we feel good about what we saw and did out there this Saturday. But you all know around here being good isn't good enough, we have our eyes on the prize, again." You can't win them all without winning the first one and the Goodgers have won the first one.

Notes from around the League

*It was only against Kent State, but Alex Daniels is making Farmer's coach/AD Kennedy look like a fortune teller. It appears that Daniels has taken a hold of the starting Running Back job in Minnesota and may very well be a very highly rated RB in the 2006 BTFFL season. He was the 24th Running Back selected and, as of the end of the first week, the highest scoring player in the BTFFL. Of course, he has to be in the line up to earn those points.

*The great debate of the draft continues into week 2, who is the better WR at Penn State, Dion Butler or Derrick Williams? Well, it is all even right now, as the two players produce exactly the same stats and fantasy points. 50 yards and 1 TD for each in their 2006 BTFFL debut.

*Some young players saw significant action on Saturday. Beanie Wells was the third Ohio State RB in the game on Saturday but the first one to score a touchdown. He did look good and if he plays and Daniels plays, the Farmers could be in for a return trip to the Blue Ox Bowl. Juice also got into the Illinois game. He is the future and maybe the present.

*Who is Austin Signor?

*Steve Breaston 8, Mario Manningham 10, Herb Grigsby 0.

Goodgers Begin Unprecedented Run at Fourth Blue Ox

Bucky Beatwriter

Today our beloved Goodgers begin their campaign for an historic fourth Blue Ox Bowl title. It promises to be an interesting campaign. Experts around the BTFFL believe that no team will dominate the league this season. And the Goodgers are under fire for a curious recruiting draft. But several players who have been critical to the Goodgers success return, including a healthy Mike Hart and stars Drew Stanton, Albert Young, and Dorien Bryant. Big things ae expected from another returning player, Curtis Painter. Those players will keep the Goodgers in the hunt even with the departure of Michael Robinson, Brett Basanez, and Deon Butler.

The Goodgers open this week at the hapless Halifax Spitfires. The Spitfires have been basement dwellers two seasons running in the BTFFL. But there is excitment once again among the Spitfire faithful. The arrival of several new players bring with them the possibility of scores breaking the 100 mark.

The Goodgers lineup will be full of familiar faces as well as several newcomers:

QB Drew Stanton
QB Curtis Painter
RB Mike Hart
RB Albert Young
WR Dorien Bryant
WR Steve Breaston
WR Greg Orton
K Kevin Kelly

With the apparent parady in the BTFFL, it may take a few breaks going the Goodgers way for once for them to rererepeat. But if any team deserves to finally catch a break and have things go its way in the BTFFL, it has to be the Goodgers!

Here's to the BTFFL! Let the season begin!

Deep Fried Blue Ox on a Stick

In honor of the Minnesota State Fair it's the 1st annual preseason Blue Ox Bowl on a Stick BTFFL predictions. Ah, the Blue Ox Bowl. What late November in the fall would be complete without the championship of the BTFFL, the Blue Ox Bowl. It's the dream of many a child in Minnesota to lead their fantasy team to a Blue Ox Bowl championship and have their teams name enshrined on the Blue Ox! Who will do it this year. Well, as we head into week 1 of the 2006 season, I'll tell you who will take it home.

In what will probably be the most balanced and competetive season in the history of the BTFFL I think the Golden Goblins will put together another great season and win the BTFFL regular season and another trip to the BOB. The race for 2nd will be extremely tight down to the final week, but I think this is finally the year the Halifax Spitfires pull it out, and get to that elusive BTFFL championship game.

1. Golden Goblins 7-4
2. Halifax Spitfires 6-5
3. Bucky's Goodgers 5-6
4. Fighting Famers 4-7

Now to the winner of the Blue Ox.......in a dramatic close game, the Spitfires will win the Blue Ox Bowl 2006! Mmmmm....doesn't that deep fried Blue Ox on a stick taste good? The Ox will headed to Halifax for the winter.

The best of Dave Lee's play-by-play: Week 1

"Cupito looks into the end zone...caught...............that will be a first down for the Gophers at the 4 yard line."
Huh?

"Cupito back to pass, throws, it's dropped............................."
To who? Where? What happened? Argh!

".....and that looks like a......................yes, a fumble and the Gophers have it."

"The give to Daniels.....a big hole..........and he gains about 2 on the play."
WTF just happened?

"Hand off, Pinnix.....hole opens up...he sees it, and he spins for a gain of about 7."
Somehow I think the play was over before he even said "hole opens up."

Remainder of Farmer's Starters; Week 1

RB Tony "Akron Zips"Hunt-ing
RB Javon "is this guy a" Ringer
RB Jehuu "my team may be up a Caul Crick without a paddle"
WR Ted Ginn-a get me some touchdowns
WR Derrick Williams, enough said
K Taylor row your boat a shore Melholff

I may have not started my highest single scoring game back this season in the Plow, Alex Daniels. ...and this stupid move may have cost me this week, but his brilliant draft selection could vault me into a potential high playoff bid for this season. Do the Farmers now have a viable 3 to 4 back rotation? Will Chris Wells live up to the hype? Are two lousy quarterbacks enough for BTFFL competition? We will soon see in the coming weeks of the BTFFL.
Go Farmers!

It Begins Today! - here's my prediction

1. Iowa = 12-0 / 8-0
2. Ohio State = 10-2 / 7-1
3. Penn State = 10-2 / 7-1
4. Purdue = 9-4 / 5-3
5. Michigan = 8-4 / 5-3
6. Wisconsin = 8-4 / 4-4
7. Michigan State = 7-5 / 4-4
8. Northwestern = 5-7 / 1-7
9. Minnesota = 4-8 / 1-7
10. Indiana = 4-8 / 1-7
11. Illinois = 3- 9 / 0- 8

Farmers Starters for week 1 for MN

QB Cupito
WR Wheelwright

Sorry, but it's 5AM and I'm in no mood for fancy dialouge.

Best Pick/Worst Pick 2006 BTFFL Draft

I should not be bloggin' about the BTFFL but a quick post with a few impressions from the draft. Nothing has happened yet, so these are just prejudical guesses, but what the hell, here we go:

Halifax Spitfires:

Best Pick: It seems likely that by years end it will be one of Lance Smith, Kevin Grady or EJ Jones. But until one of those guys gets a chance I'm going to say the 2 best picks were those acquired through trade: Mario Manningham and Rashard Mendenhall. Manningham flashed huge possibility last year and may very well be the #1 Michigan WR for years to come. Mendenhall appears to be set up to start at RB for an improving Illinois team. I like PJ Hill and Anthony Morelli as well.

Worst Pick: Blake Powers. Powers started strong against inferior competition but faded against real college football teams. Indiana will struggle all year long and I suspect Max Powers will too. I really think the Spitfires will regret passing on Ted Ginn, Jr. And I will be shocked if Brian Hoyer is on this team after week 3 (even more confusing with CJ Bacher still on the board and Mike Kafka already on the team).

Golden Goblins:

Best Pick: This is tough -- like the Goodgers, the Goblins faced a tough task trying to upgrade after the Spitfires and Farmers got to the feeding trough first. Adrian Arrington might be a big contributor to the Michigan offense, he was impressive in very limited action last year. Amir Pinnix could be an absolute steal even if he doesn't live up to Barber, Maroney and Russell's legacy. Even if the real GG don't return to form, Pinnix could still be a respectable fantasy performer and he certainly has a shot at outperforming many of the 8 RBs selected before him.

Worst Pick: Dion Butler. "Dion Butler!" you say. Yes, Dion Butler. I love Butler and he played well last season and he will be a great fantasy performer this year. I just believe that the other Penn State WR on the board, Derrick Williams, will be better.

Fighting Farmers:

Best Pick: Tyler Melhoff. Just kidding, not Tyler or Taylor Melhoff. I like the top of the Farmers draft. Hunt, Ringer and Ginn, Jr form a very good core for the Farmers. Of course, it really all rides on the Farmers #1 pick and I'm not prepared to pass judgement on that. Can it be a bad thing to select the concensus best RB coming out of college? Ask Kevin Grady perhaps? I also like the Caulcrick pick. He'll be a possible spot starter picked in the 10th Round. Stocking up on Gopher prospects might work out too.

Worst Pick: It's hard to have a worst pick after the draft is over but Todd Boeckmann is not even the back up in Ohio State.

Bucky's Goodgers:

Best Pick: It's my draft so it's hard to have any real perspective but I like the bottom of my draft, beginning with Juice (who I really was not planning on taking but am pretty excited about having). I think Breaston dropped far farther than his disappointing Junior season justified. I like Greg Orton's chance of being a number one or two target on Joe Tiller's pass happy offense. Maurice Wells was another forgotton man in our draft and selected in the 16th Round may very well contribute to Ohio State's National Championship run.

Worst Pick: Although I believe he will work out, it seems clear from the groans in the room that Herb Grigsby could have been picked at least a round later, if not more. And while I feel that my hand was forced, it pains me even now to think that I devoted 2 of my first 3 picks in this draft to the Indiana running game. Urgh! Finally, Calvin Davis reminds me a lot of Ray Williams, a Senior who could never get into the starting lineup before at the top of the depth chart by seniority and not merit. I drafted Ray last year.