sportsfanatic

Fantasy sports has spread like wildfire since the early 60’s when this concept first appeared. In 2006 it was estimated that just over 19 million people over the age of 12 in the United States of America and Canada played Fantasy Sports. That number grew to almost 30 million in 2007. This phenomena has had a 3 to 4 billion dollar annual impact across the sports industry. Another number that will blow your mind is that 22% of all males between the ages of 18 and 49 that have internet access play fantasy sports. At this particular pace, it is thought that 2008 will see close to 50 million people “suiting up” to play in a fantasy league.

For those that are clueless to the Fantasy Realm, let me fill you in. Fantasy sports plays in many different areas, but not limited to just sports. There is football, baseball, basketball, soccer, cricket, golf, auto racing, hockey, and wrestling to name a few. And if you are ambitious, then you can get into Fantasy Sports stock simulations or Fantasy Congress. It seems like sooner or later there will be a fantasy “booty call” league. All in all, there is something for almost everyone out there. So, are you in or out?

 When it comes to football, fans love to party before, during, and after the game. Doing this at the game at any of these times is referred to as “tailgating”. It is quite simple to see why these cities have the largest amount of tailgaters around. To be successful in the tailgating ritual, one needs to have the right supplies with them. What is really surprising to me is how many teams on here are typically not a playoff bound team, yet their fans are there. Another huge surprise to me is that Cleveland , who has the most loyal fans of any NFL city , is ranked ninth in this poll. And just so you do not get the wrong idea, this list of tailgating has no bearing on who sits in the parking lot versus who actually goes in to see the game.

1. Denver, CO
2. Baltimore, MD
3. Houston, TX
4. Cincinnati, OH
5. San Diego, CA
6. Miami, FL
7. Chicago, IL
8. Kansas City, MO
9. Cleveland, OH
10. Philadelphia, PA
11. Green Bay, WI
12. Phoenix, AZ
13. Washington, D.C.
14. New Orleans, LA
15. Oakland, CA
16. Indianapolis, IN
17. New York, NY
18. Pittsburgh, PA
19. Boston, MA
20. Seattle, WA

Have you ever wondered what the best NFL game day snacks are? Well, it might surprise you when you actually read the list that is complied below. All you have to do is now head to the grocery store and pack your cabinets and pantrys full of all these goodies and you will surely be the hit of the party. With that said, just make sure that you do not forget the beer to go along with the snacks. There is nothing more that people hate than when they go to a party and the beer or the snacks run out. So, you will want to make sure that you have enough of all.

1. Spicy Pork Rinds
2. Hot Wings
3. Nachos
4. Chex Mix
5. Philly Cheese Steak Sandwiches
6. Taquitos
7. Bagel Dogs
8. Twice-based potato Skins with Bacon, Chives and Sour Cream
9. Seven layer dip and homemade wedge fries
10. Jamaican Jerk Chicken Wraps

The Washington Redskins improved their chances this year when they added defensive end Jason Taylor to their already good defense. This might actually help them increase on the Net points. Last year it was only at 24. This year, Taylor joins leading tacklers London Fletcher and Rocky McIntosh. This in itself should give their defense a boost. With that boost I think that they can improve on the 7 loses that they had in 2007.

With that said, Washington’s defense gave up to much in the air last year as the opponents were able to practically match them yard for yard in passing. This year returning secondary players free safety LaRon Landry, safety Reed Doughty, and corner backs Carlos Rogers and Shawn Springs will have to do a better job in coverage. Bottom line is you can not allow a team to match you yard for yard. Especially when you do not have the better quarterback.

As for the offense, it looks like it will be pretty sound. I do not look for anything to amazing out of this offense though. With the likes of Jason Campbell , who only threw 12 touchdown passes all year, and Todd Collins , who chipped in another five, this team is going to get most of its work on the ground. Of course having Clinton Portis in the backfield is not a bad option. And the same can be said of the first string wide receivers Santana Moss and Antwaan Randle El . The issue will be when you get past the first stringers.

Bottom line, this is a solid team and they will once again have a winning season at 10-6 and visit the playoffs again. The video is the inspiration to the title.

When you see a quarterback like the Tennessee Titans have, you would expect that he would have a sizable amount of passing touchdowns. As for Vince Young, that just is not the case. Out of the 28 touchdowns that they had in 2007, only 9 of those were provided by Vince’s arm. The other 19 came from the rush. To make a comparison here, Tom Brady threw 50 last year and Peyton Manning threw 31. OK, so you think he does not have the experience to be compared to them? Well what about Derek Anderson who threw 29 or Tony Romo would threw 36 or even Superbowl MVP Eli Manning would threw 23. All in all, it just goes to show you that the Tennessee Titans are on the run.

Now, do not get me wrong, running is not a bad game plan especially when your QB is 6 foot 5 inches and 233 pounds. The problem that I see is LenDale White is a great runner, but he had a great backup that is gone this year. And he contributed 5 of those touchdowns. LenDale carried across the line 7 times himself, so if he can stay healthy, then he might have a chance.

As for this defense, I truly do not think that it is weak. Even though the net point difference was just 4 points, it seems that it lays with the offense more than the defense. If they can correct that, then they will go to the playoffs again. If they can not, they will not see the playoffs. In my case, I think we will see a 9-7 record and no playoffs.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have brought Warrick Dunn full circle. The former Florida State University Seminole got his professional start in Tampa Bay in 1997 for these “tough as nails” Bucs. Warrick has been in the league for 12 seasons so far and he is far from done. I am glad to see him land in a place that he can help. It looks like the former Seminole stand out will be backing up Earnest Graham at running back. From what I have seen so far, they will compliment each other.

Jeff Garcia is back again this year to try and build on the 10-6 season that the Bucs had last year. He would like another chance in the playoffs. For now it seems the job is his to lose. i know that Brian Griese or Chris Simms would love a chance to step in and take it from him. As for them doing that, I think it would take Jeff acquiring an injury.

As for the recievers corps, it will be lead by the very talented Joey Galloway and ike Hilliard. With that said, you can expect to see Michael Clayton and Maurice Stovall fighting over some playing time either as a backup to the two afore mentioned players or as a third or even fourth wide out.

Now, as for the defense. They had a positive 64 point Net advantage in scoring over their opponents. While being positive is a good thing, being this low on the positive side is not. They lost 6 games and there is a reason they did. They need to step that side of their game up if they want to win the big one. I look for Derrick Brooks and Cato June to be the leaders on the defense.

All in all, I think that they will do well again. I also see them not making it to the playoffs again. I think that they will fall short this year.

The big news in the St Louis Rams camp is the signing of running back Steven Jackson. The ink has barely dried this 6 year contract that will make him one of the NFL’s highest paid running backs . He has been a holdout for the last 27 days. After signing the contract he promised to be in playing shape by the time the season started. Now, I do not want to sound bitter or anything, but let’s look at what he did last year. First off, running backs are not paid to run up and down the field. They are paid to put the ball into the end zone. With that said, he did that 5 times. So, at his new salary, if all he accomplishes is the 5 touchdowns again in  2008, it will cost the Rams 1.6 million dollars per touchdown. Wow. That is an investment.

So, lets look at the rest of this team and decide if they can improve on that 3-13 record from 2007. Marc Bulger will be calling the signals from underneath center this. Not a bad choice for this team if you ask me. You also have a competent backup in Trent Green. I like that I see the likes of Torry Holt,Drew Bennett, and Dante Hall all lining up in the wide receiver slots. I am somewhat concerned on the depth that they have on the bench for back up offensive linemen as well. I think that they will be ok as long as they do not have many injuries though.

As for the defense, this is a team that needs to greatly improve on the 175 points difference that they gave up last year. This is a defense that gave up a total of 697 more yards than their offense got. It was almost as bad against the rush as they were against the pass. This defense allowed for 317 more rushing yards and 380 more passing yards. This will need to change this year. At least the Rams leading tackler from 2007, Will Witherspoon, will be right back in the middle mixing it up.

Rams fans, I will say this for you. The Rams will come out and win more games this year. unfortunately, it will still be a miserable year. There are not enough changes for them to win every Sunday. I see a 5-11 season coming out for them. If nothing else, they need to play this one for Georgia Frontiere.

Now, on a side note, I think the NFL did a crappy thing denying the request of Chip Rosenbloom. For those that do not know, former owner Georgia Frontiere dies on January 18, 2008. Rosenbloom, the son of Frontiere, had petitioned the NFL to allow the Rams to wear the old blue and yellow uniforms from the 1999 season. The NFL denied this request stating that he needed to apply for it a year earlier. Nice going commish.

I have wondered this as of late. I mean it really seems like since winning the Superbowl in 2005, the Pittsburgh Steelers went to autopilot. Think about this. Their coach retire after the win. Their franchise running back retired after they won. Did the rest of the team check out too. Not to beat them down, but they can seem to get into the playoffs, but that is where it ends.

To look at this team, half the time it looks like a hospital wing. It seems like each and every season, quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has to come back from some type of injury. And it really does not stop there. I can remember last year wondering if on some Sundays if Ward, Hines even played.

As for this team, I truly think that they are a talented bunch and I think that once again they will show us how to get to the playoffs in cruise control. All I really want to know is what year are they going to kick some AFC butt. In conclusion, this team will go 11-5 improving by a game with a trip to the playoffs.

The Seattle Seahawks are looking to better on the 2007 season. As they won their division, they still did not manage their goal of winning a Superbowl. That was a task that along with 30 other teams failed to accomplished. So, what do they do? What every respectable team would, build for the future.

Well, this year, Matt Hasselbeck steps back in at the helm to guide the team on the field. At least at the quarterback position, we will not have to watch him dance. But I am sure that he will take Stacy Keibler’s recommendation on passing. 

One of the things that Matt is hoping for is that his receivers can dance. Courtney Taylor might be kinda new, but Nate Burleson, Deion Branch, and Bobby Engram will bring some experience and stability to the receiver corps. The running game will be controlled mostly by Maurice Morris, but you can expect to see Julius Jones and T.J. Duckett all with some touches. This will allow for Morris to get some rest and keep some fresh legs in the game.

As for the defense, Seattle managed to have a 102 Net point gain last year. This means that for the most part, the defense did their job. With that said, the Seahawks looked like Seahorses out of water. The team seemed to be up and down all season.

Marcus Trufant returns to build on his team leading 7 interceptions from 2007. He will be the anchor to the secondary. Marcus was also second in total tackles with 85. That being said, your CB should not be that high if you expect to win. It tells me that they get the ball outside way to much. Lofa Tatupu , team leading 109 tackles, and Julian Peterson, 74 tackles, lead the defense from their Linebackers position. My issue with this defense is no one on the line is leading in tackles. Patrick Kerney is the first defensive lineman to rank in the top ten with 60 tackles. Problem with that is there are 7 people about him and those are linebackers and secondary people. That would be great if all those people are blitzing but we know differently.

Build on that and get better with the defense line and I think you have a winning team. Continue to allow your opponent to get 5 yards a play and you will lose. With that, the Seahawks will have a winning season and they will find the playoffs yet again.

The Oakland Raiders would like to forget most of this decade. So far, 2000 through 2002 saw winning seasons while 2003 through 2007 saw the Raiders win just 3 more games, 19 total,  than the 2007 New England Patriots at 16 wins. Those 19 wins spanned over a 5 season drought of making it to the playoffs. The playoffs were a feat that they accomplished each of the first 3 seasons in this decade. And they did it by winning their division each of those three years.

With that said, the Raiders were a team that saw five quarterbacks last year. Out is Josh McCown who is with the Miami Dolphins. Out is Daunte Culpepper who still remains an unsigned free agent. Andrew Walter is not out, but he is currently the backup. In is JaMarcus Russell as the starter. This is really where he needs to be if he is to be the future of the team. With said, I truly think that he will be an improvement over the other two that are gone.

However, a quarterback can not win alone. I think that the Raiders have decent starting receivers. Past that, it is shaky at best. Javon Walker, Drew Carter, and Ronald Curry are all proven performers. Then you go to Todd Watkins that has spent most of his career on practice squads to Johnnie Lee Higgins that spent all last year as a backup except for 2 games in which he was the starter.

Now, as for the backfield, I am not overly thrilled with the starter that they have. When I look at Justin Fargas, I just can not see how he can be better than that of Darren McFadden. As the experience might give Justin the edge, Darren is a more complete runner. I can understand Justin breaking the 1000 yard mark and all, but he has done that once in his career. Prior to that, he could not break 700.I think that we will seen Darren in the backfield as the starter befor it is over.

As for the defense, this is a team that lost 8 games with only a -105 net point differential. That tells me that they needed some help. That help arrived in the form of Gibril Wilson from the SuperBowl Champion New York Giants and DeAngelo Hall from the Atlanta Falcons. These are two very good cover guys. Along with these additions, leading tackler Kirk Morrison is back to clog the middle of the playing field. Defensively this team will be strong.

With that said, i think that they have some question marks going into the year. I think personally they will end at 5-11. I do not think that they have enough power to plow through the league yet.