"News of Note"

"Bad Boy" Billy

I love that people who are shocked that Bill Belicheck is less than honarable. The man cheated on his wife, left her with their kids (although grown), has no personality, and will shove ANYONE out of the way that is blocking him from achieving his goals. He refuses to deal with anyone on their terms, solely his own (See Ty Law, Lawyor Milloy, Asante Samuel, Troy Brown). He is a winner, sometimes by default, sometimes by skill, and YES!, sometimes by cheating. He is a "do what needs to be done" kind of man. None of the news comes as a shock to me.

I appreciate that he is willing to accept full blame, not dispursing it to this is coach or that coach, the ownership, not even using the "everyone else is doing it" card that so many people use as justification. Funny, integrity at one point but not at others.

The best part about it is that Eric "Man-genius" is the guy who called him out on the carpet. How very impressive! Such a man of integrity, huh? If this were the case, knowing full-well what Bill does as he was the benefactor of it, receiving all he owes, career-wise to the man, then why did you wait till it was against you? Why not bring it to the league when you were witness and benefited from it? Where was your sense of integrity then? Heck, he has his job because of the very thing he "tattled" on.

The fines have been levied, the penalty of draft picks assigned, yet people still want more? Do you really believe that suspending him will really amount to a hill of beans? He will practice the game plan all week, then allow his coordinators to run the game... the only thing that would change on Sunday is not having a beat-up, hooded sweatshirt on the sideline and the red flag would be in someone else's sock. And no, you can't stricken the win from the records, one, it is unprecedented (this is not the first time a coach has been caught cheating...check out the 49ers in the mid-50s) and this cameraman was ejected half-way through the first quarter and had no real affect on the immediate game. As a matter of fact, most of it has no affect on the game at hand, it is for the next time they play anyways.

As a die-hard Patriots fan, seeing the moral integrity of the team get knocked down another notch (See "One Up, One Down" regarding Rodney Harrison) kills me. Truthfully, this story is bigger than it should be, not to down-play the whole thing, but it is bigger because of the winning ways of the Patriots over the past 6 years as well as the awareness that the Patriots are hated fairly universally and have become the Yankees of the NFL. If this was the Detroit Lions, it wouldn't be as big a story and probably wouldn't even have received as much of a penalty.

All in all, it is a sad story, especially when you consider the steroid issue in Baseball, the officiating in the NBA, and now the cheating in the NFL. I think Commissioner Goodell did a great job in not only applying an appropriate penalty, but for acting swiftly and without "much biased". Will this destroy the Patriots? No. But it will add to the all ready mounting hate for the team and the organization as a whole.

FANTASY IMPACT: I personally believe this does not change the fantasy impact of the defense and/or offense of the Patriots. The decision DOES affect the future of the organization as it will likely lose a first round pick (most likely will make the playoffs), however, if they don't make the playoffs, I believe it will hurt more...the organization relishes the 2nd and 3rd round picks more than the first. They have excellent scouting ability which renders solid talent in the 2nd-4th round with less impact on the payroll. The real question to ask is this... Will Scott Pioli stick around with all the negativity that will likely be associated to him as well. This might end the Pioli-Belicheck connection for the future, especially since Bill took away Pioli's power....draft picks.





"Oden injury revealed"

This hurts! Both to Oden's future (most, with exception of Amare Stoudamire, have done poorly or less than they are capable, after such a surgery) as well as the Portland Trailblazers as an organization. I don't believe they are regretting the pick of Greg, but it has to hurt to see all that investment go down the drain. It will have an affecton the parque at least for this season and most likely half of next. This is not as bad as the Celtics losing Lenny Bias back in the late 80's, or Reggie Lewis in the early 90's, but it has a similar impact on the organization and it's players.

Personally, I am pulling for this guy. I think he played under extreme scrutiny during his only stint in the NCAA, playing almost completely with his left hand (right-handed) all while under the spot-light of media, both audio and visual. When drafted, he didn't go straight for the bling, but chose to live at home, bought a "middle class" ride, and started to work at his profession. He has been littered with injuries, from his hand in college, his thigh during summer session, now this micro-fracture surgery on his knee.

Look at Antonio McDyess, Allen Houston, and Jamal Mashburn. All of them went in for the same surgery, leaving only Antonio to make a return to the NBA. He is less of a player than he was before the surgery (Tyress Thomas was compared to McDyess, coming into the NBA) and the only reason he is back is because it was done at an early age (23), unlike the others. With this, I hope that Oden does what he does best, fight through injury and adversity. He is a young (although looks 40) man and has shown the ability to stay focused, determined, and willing to do what it takes to succeed.

FANTASY IMPACT: Because the basketball season hasn't started, it only appears to affect "keeper leagues". The team will rebound and have another near-miss at the playoffs, something that was thought to be a guarantee with Oden on the floor. If you are in fact in a basketball keeper league, draft him with your last pick, ride him all year long and get paid in the 2008-2009 season. Other than that, he will go undrafted in all seasonal leagues.





"Cowboys fishing in the TANK"

After the loss of NT Jason Furgeson, news around many football circles is that the Dallas Cowboys have gone fishing in the tank. It appears they are in communication with Tank Williams regarding his services once his suspension has been cleared (and I guess all of his off-field interaction with law enforcement).

Is there a possibility he will go to Dallas. Why not? Someone, somewhere is going to put the guy on their squad, knowing his talent (did you see the holes in the Cowboy's D-line against NYG?). There will always be a black plague when it comes to his "character and integrity" or at least until he shows otherwise, but I believe that this would be the ideal spot for Tank to land. They are big bruisers on the D-line, needing someone to get in there, plug up the middle, and wreak havoc on their opponent's running backs and offensive schemes.

FANTASY IMPACT: Look, the guy still has time to serve, in more ways than one, but this would be a huge find for the Dallas Defense and the teams aspirations for a NFL Championship trophy. Unfortunately, they still need to focus on speed in their defensive backfield. I believe that Roy Williams has shown that he lacks football knowledge, and the closing speed necessary to be the impact player he was drafted to be. They need to get speed and get it fast.


"Olsen On The Mend"

News out of the Chicago camp is that rookie TE Greg Olsen is practicing. Although limited, he is making great strides. Give him another week or two and he will be at least90% healthy and ready to get back on the field and make an impact.

Desmond Clark is old, but serviceable until the young, spry Olsen can get back on the field. Once he returns, it will improve the ability for Cedric Benson to get out of the backfield as more attention needs to be paid to the TE position, in and out of the redzone. Additionally, it gives shaky Rex Grossman a chance to have a more productive, more trustworthy(as well as potentially dangerous) checkdown.

FANTASY IMPACT: If he is undrafted or dropped in your league, go ahead and add him now to your waiver-wire/roster. Give him a few weeks (2, at best) and everyone will be searching their free agent pool for this kid and you will be able to giggle with glee as you put your number 1 TE "on the block" for those scroungers. They will give up a second-tier WR or a back-up RB when they are hurting for TE and you have depth.


Statistocrat