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Go forward to more recent blurbs.

10/31 - Glenn Robinson was the "biggest dog." Kwame Brown probably made the biggest impression.

Robinson's output of 68.5 TSNP was certainly out of the blue. Last year, he had three games in the TSNP 50s, but nothing above 55. So it's a little hard to put much stock in it just yet. Still worth watching, however.

Kwame had a decent preseason, and although he tailed off a bit in the end (33.5 TSNP in his final 2 preseason outings), he did manage to land on a fair number of opening rosters. And last night's 18 rebound, 53.5 TSNP effort will undoubtedly land him on a few more for tonight's home opener against the Celtics. This will be interesting, as it was Boston that held him to 16.5 TSNP (in 41 minutes) in his final preseason game. Before the season is done, I'll bet he has his fair share of both types of games.

10/30 - Not much offensive magic to speak of, but the NBA season is underway. Last night, just three games were played. Tonight, the slate expands to 14 games.

I have no idea what to expect from today's TSN price changes. Buying activity will probably be spread around due to some late drafting activity. Selling will be very light, which could spell trouble for anyone with a disappointing game last night. I have some ideas on who the primary movers might be, but I think I'll stay mum to avoid influencing the tally (which is only a concern when activity is expected to be light). For hints, check out yesterday's points, which will now be posted daily.

As a general guideline, I should have points posted by 8:30am EST each morning. The only exceptions are when my raw stats are fouled up, or when I have occasional early morning conflicts, or on Saturdays, when I sometimes sleep in a bit later. Monday mornings are the most hectic, with both Hoops and Football to process, but I usually run the Hoops stats first.

10/29 - Today's focus will undoubtedly be the start of the NBA season for most of us. The first freeze is coming up this evening.

But first, a recap of the most recent Football Pickoff weekend. Four entrants managed to get 12 correct out of 14 total. Kudos to Doug3, whose 735 points was more than 150 better than the other three. And for those of you (like me) who continue to suck, Week #9 starts the midseason competition. You don't need to do anything to register for the midseason standings. A separate set of rankings will be produced for all teams, simply ignoring the first 8 weeks.

I'm still struggling with my Hoops rosters. At this point, I'm thinking that the objective should be to position my rosters for maximum adaptability, rather than striving for the optimum point producing roster. There are too many plausible choices, and I'm sure many won't pan out well, while some true sleepers will emerge from nowhere.

Thanks to Gurupie "rage_22" for supplying today's quote, which took place in the aftermath of the Rick Fox/Doug Christie bout last week.

10/28 - I finally had a good weekend in TSN Football. I cracked the 3000 TSNP mark for the first time this season, and moved into the top 1000. Football is admittedly my weakest fantasy sport, so I have to celebrate the small victories. My key move was dropping Bledsoe to pick up Vick, which released enough funds to be able to pick up the Tampa Bay defense.

The NBA season starts tomorrow night. Both TSN and PSC have the opening freeze set for Tuesday evening (7pm EST for TSN, 7:30pm for PSC). So many ideas, so many questions! If you're looking for ideas, there is no shortage of them - both good and bad, no doubt - at the message forum. But I'm sure there are some undiscovered bargains out there as well, so don't be afraid to differentiate. In fact, my experience suggests that some of the most obvious, popular draft choices turn out to be early busts. (Remember Blalock, Ensberg, and Burroughs in baseball? There was so much pre-season talk about which one to pick. And it turned out that the best cheap third basemen were Hillenbrand and Hinske.)

10/25 - Tonight is the end of the NBA preseason. After this, you get no more statistical feedback before the regular season starts. And both TSN and PSC are still adding a few more players to their list of eligibles, so you still get a few more options to consider.

But first, there's an NFL weekend to plan for. After watching baseball and fiddling with Hoops, I need to circle back and figure out my weekend football roster moves. I really haven't been doing very well in my various football exploits this year - any of them. So once the NBA season starts, football will probably go to the back burner. Frankly, that might help my performance, as it's often when I over-manage that I get burned.

10/24 - I'm in two roto-style fantasy hoops leagues whose drafts have progressed at polar extremes. As I mentioned last week, I'm in an "experts" league that is holding a slow email draft. We've almost completed a full week, and we've just barely made it into the 3rd round of a 16 round draft. We need to start 12 players on each roster, and I doubt if we'll even have 12 rounds completed before the 2 week of the NBA season. In fact, at this pace, we'll still be plodding along at Thanksgiving. Ugh!

Then there's an ESPN league that I'm in with 9 others (mostly Gurupies). We had a live draft that went so fast last night that my head was spinning. I think we completed 12 rounds in about an hour, which averages to about 30 seconds per pick. The trouble with that is that I had a lot of trouble sensing just where I stood in the various categories, but when the clock says it's my turn, I only have 60 seconds. Still, we were all in the same boat, and I think I did OK, although after a preliminary postmortem it looks like I have some imbalances to correct. But that's part of the fun - and the challenge.

10/23 - Aside from Bonds, these two World Series teams don't conjure up exaggerated expectations of long balls. But after only three games, the teams have combined to produce 13 dingers, just four less than the record for any complete World Series! Bud Selig says the ball isn't juiced, but some of the players are convinced that it is, and it's hard to argue with the players (and hard to believe anything that Selig utters).

I added a feature to the sortable Hoops stats. You can now use the extra column (cleverly labeled "column B") to show the average minutes per game. The measurement period is that same as that for the points shown in the main columns. Particularly during the preseason, this may help you better interpret the point averages. Of course, this information is also available on the individual player pages.

10/22 - One Football Pickoff entrant missed only one game. Curiously, bubbagum77 missed only his doubled pick (Chicago over Detroit), racking up 654 points for the week. Last week's best slates also had double trouble. I wonder what's up with that?

All told, more than 56% of Pickoff results were positive this week, even though only 40% of cumulative scores are currently above the break-even mark. What is particularly surprising is that the "Random Dart" entry currently ranks in the top 50 YTD. For that entry, I simply use a random number generator to select a slate of picks, with each team subject to a 50-50 selection probability. Go figure!

The NBA season starts just one week from today. The last preseason games are on Friday, so we aren't going to have much more statistical info to guide us. I've got a few guys picked out for my TSN rosters, but there are still a lot of choices to be made. Decisions, decisions...

10/21 - That was a fun World Series game to watch! Too bad I had to struggle so much to stay awake.

For the first five weeks of the season, Marshall Faulk never produced more than 335 TSNP. But in the last two weeks, he's averaged 576 TSNP, including yesterday's 724 TSNP monster. Those who picked him #1 in their roto fantasy drafts are finally getting what they were expecting. Three other players also topped 500 TSNP yesterday: Shannon Sharpe (572), James Stewart (524), and Aaron Brooks (522).

I've been asked whether I will be providing stats and prices for the TSN Basic (free) Hoops game this season. The answer is yes. In fact, although the sortable stats currently only list the TSN Ultimate game as an option, for preseason purposes, all stats and prices are the same for both TSN versions (Ultimate and Basic). Once the season starts, prices will diverge, and at that point I'll set up a separate game option to track the Basic prices. But for now, if you are playing the Basic game, just use the Ultimate stats.

10/18 - There are a few new developments in fantasy hoops.

First, Progressive Sports Challenge has launched their basketball game. This season, they are only offering their standard "free" game, which includes 5 free trades per week, but also allows you to buy additional trades. It is still possible to win prizes in that game (and the prizes are pretty nice) without spending for extra trades. I've finished well in each of the last 2 years, and I think I spent less than $10 each year - and could have still won a prize had I gone cold turkey. So, although some people have spent outrageous amounts in the past, it's not necessary to spend to be competitive. And it costs nothing to get started.

In any event, I've got the PSC prices and stats loaded in the sortable stats now, as well as the Assimilator. Rookie prices have not yet been released, however.

Second, I will be participating in a couple of "expert" traditional Hoops leagues this season. The draft for one of those leagues has just begun, and I took Tim Duncan with the opening overall pick. For more info on this league, and to follow the draft as it emerges, stay tuned to this thread at the message forum.

10/16 - New prices for Progressive Sports Challenge Football are now released, and fully incorporated in the sortable stats and the Assimilator.

Assembling a new roster isn't a trivial exercise. For example, the roster that I used for week #6 is now worth $105 million, up $30 million from its prior cost. You're going to have to dig much deeper for bargains, and/or go without many/any studs. You might as well get started working on it now. Not much else going on this week, unless your playing fantasy hockey.

Speaking of hockey, some of you have asked whether there will be a hockey site offering schedule and stats features similar to what I produce for other sports. The answer is kafenatid.net. Scheduling tools are already up and running, and sortable stats should be available soon.

Incidently, I hear that PSC Basketball should be ready by this weekend. And TSN has added some more rookies to their Hoops games' eligibility.

10/15 - Now we get to wait through 4 off days before the World Series gets going. Ugh.

Five entrants got 12 games correct (out of 14) in this week's Football Pickoff. Curiously, none of them got their doubled pick correct. The top result therefore went to Damfino (657 points), who avoided that ignominy by simply refusing to double any game! Good call... I guess!

According to the rules at Progressive Sports Challenge, all football rosters are going to be cleared out this week and must be "re-drafted" using updated prices prior to the weekend. So far, I haven't seen any new prices, but once they're published, I'll try to update my database ASAP.

The weekend move of the message forum to a new server went quite well. There were only a few minor glitches, and all of them have been resolved by now, I think. If you continue to use the forum link from this page, your forum handle and ID# will transfer over to the new server. Once that's happened, feel free to update your bookmarks to the new server URL, which simply substitutes rotoguru1.com for rotoguru3.com as the domain. After about a week, I'll update the links here as well. But for the time being, I want to give ample opportunity for everyone to get their IDs automagically transferred.

10/14 - The two baseball games yesterday were both entertaining. Plenty of action and drama. As a consequence, I missed a lot of football action. But based on my Football Pickoff results, I was missing it even before the games started, I guess.

Tonight offers a choice between the potential deciding game of the NLCS and a MNF game between San Fran and Seattle. I'll probably watch baseball. Heck, I'll bet a lot of 49er fans will be watching baseball, too. The TV remote control will probably get a lot of action, though. (Has anyone noticed how commercials have an uncanny (and maddening) propensity to coincide across games?)

Did anyone find the top football TSNP producer of the day? I thought not. Michael Lewis (N.O. Saints) returned a punt and a kickoff for TDs, and also caught 2 passes for 70 yards. When all was said and done, the total was 583 TSNP.

This was not an easy week to pick the best quarterbacks. Daunte Culpepper led everyone with his best game of the year (490 TSNP). But the other top QB's included such stalwarts as David Carr (416 TSNP), Doug Johnson (395), Drew Brees (377), and Joey Harrington (352). Maybe the best approach is to pick anyone playing against Kansas City, Buffalo, or Detroit. If so, Jay Fiedler, Brian Griese, and Jim Miller look like next week's sleepers.

Speaking of sleepers, was Tom Brady asleep all day? I decided to hold on to him against a depleted Green Bay defense. What a calamity!

10/11 - Tomorrow will be moving day for the message forum. The forum will be relocated to a new server on Saturday evening. During the final stage of the move, all forum activity will be suspended, which will allow me to copy the final threads over before reactivating the forum in its new digs. I don't know the exact time I'll be doing this, but probably some time between 7pm and 11pm ET. I don't expect the forum to be down for more than an hour during the process.

Once the forum is reactivated, the current links will automatically forward to the new server. In the process, your forum ID should also automatically be transported.

The bottom line is that if you don't happen to be trying to use the forum during that one-hour transition period, you might not even notice that anything has changed. At least, that's my hope.

10/10 - Hoops pages continue to take form. The Assimilator is now picking up preseason stats, and most player links should be working now, although I still have to code some links for the individual player pages.

Although TSN has added a number of rookies to their games, there are still quite a few who are not listed - at least yet. So far this week, there are 64 players (mostly rookies) who have appeared in a preseason game that are not listed in the TSN game. While these guys don't show up in the sortable stats (since that is keyed off of TSN game eligibility), I am still tracking their points, and they all have an individual player page. For example, the most prolific of these players so far has been Gordan Giricek. You should be able to find all active players (and a lot of inactive players as well) listed in the player menu at the bottom of the player pages.

Thanks to Gurupie darkside for suggesting today's quote.

10/9 - Fortunately, ESPN had good bosxcores for last night's NBA preseason games. That allowed me to get the sortable stats up and running with preseason stats already. Player pages are also up with game-by-game details. I still need to get the links to various news sites (like RotoWire and RotoWorld) set up, but this should be done within a day or so.

We're gettin' there...

10/8 - If you had several players in last night's NFL game, you probably did pretty well - as long as it wasn't Anthony Thomas. The other likely candidates produced quite nicely - Favre, Miller, Booker, Glenn, Driver... Even Ahman Green, with 264 TSNP, was respectable, although perhaps less than desired.

One Football Pickoff entry stood apart from the crowd this weekend. Peregrine missed only one game (Wash/Tenn) en route to a solid 766 point result. No one else missed less than 3 games, nor came within 200 points of that total.

In baseball, we head into the League Championship Series. The teams may not be the marquis names, but most baseball fans should appreciate the fresh faces. I must say that I don't really have a rooting favorite out of these four teams. Perhaps just as notable, I can't find a team to root against. Guess I'll just watch as a general baseball fan. What a concept!

The NBA preseason starts in earnest tonight, with a heavy slate of games. I doubt if I will have preseason stats available for at least a few more days, depending largely on the availability of suitable online boxscores. I'll just have to play this one by ear.

10/7 - The good news is that I picked up Priest Holmes for this weekend. The bad news is that I dropped Donovan McNabb. (But at least I went with Bledsoe rather than Vick!)

Five players topped 500 TSNP yesterday, headed by Rich Gannon's 625. The most surprising of the 500 club was probably Dennis Northcutt, who takes honors as the cheapie receiver of the week.

Figuring out what receivers to take often seems like a crap shoot. But maybe you can't go wrong with someone from Buffalo. The top two receivers in total TSNP are both from Buffalo - Eric Moulds and Peerless Price. And if Buffalo's defense continues to play as it has, Bledsoe will have to keep throwing it downfield.

The first NBA preseason game was last night. I haven't been able to find a decent boxscore yet, but I assume that will work itself out over the course of the week.

10/4 - Not having a normal cycle of morning stats to process has thrown me off my "A" game. It wasn't until about 3pm yesterday that I realized I had not written a blurb. At that point, I figured "Why bother?" (The same could arguably be true of today's effort.)

The NBA preseason starts on Sunday, although with only one game. Utah plays at Seattle. There are no games on Monday, and then there are ten games on Tuesday. By next Wednesday, I'll try to have preseason sortable stats up and running. I don't do this for other sports, but I have done it for Hoops the last few years, and many have found it to be helpful in scoping out potential sleepers.

I set up a TSN Ultimate Hoops division for GuruPatrons. Invitations were sent to all GuruPatrons on Wednesday, but about 2 dozen were bounced back due to inoperative email addresses. If you are a GuruPatron, didn't get the email, and want to join, just send me an email at davehall@rotoguru2.com. Eleven teams have already joined. (Incidently, the early bird price discount for TSN Ultimate Hoops expires next Tuesday. Procrastinators, take note!)

Speaking of GuruPatrons, I've made a special prize offer for any traditional fantasy Hoops leagues that meet certain criteria (including that a majority of participants are GuruPatrons). See post #5 for details.

10/2 - Wow. No baseball stats to process. (I'm not providing playoff stats, because there just don't seem to be many playing the TSN playoff game.) No footall stats to process. (It's Wednesday, after all.) No basketball stats to process. (Preseason games don't start until next week.) What's a Guru to do?

[Note: I have decided to continue to update the Yesterday's TSNP page for the baseball playoffs, just to give you an independent point recap. But the Assimilator and Sortable Stats will not include playoff stats.]

Actually, this provides a good opportunity to migrate the message forum to my new server. There's nothing wrong with the current forum server, but the new one will save me a few shekels. I think the programming adjustments will be minor, but there are tons of files to be transported. Time to bite the bullet and get it done.

Oh yeah. I also have to figure out my TSN golf roster moves. Late season golf moves are turning out to be just as confounding as late season baseball moves.

10/1 - October arrives. Fall is in the air. Baseball games all become meaningful. Overachieving football teams come back to earth, and disrespected teams make a move back toward mediocrity. Basketball enters its preseason. Hockey begins (for those of you who care about such things.) And, for many of us, leaves must be raked, and raked... and raked again. Sigh...

Congrats to Football Pickoff entrant shifties, who correctly picked 13 out of 14 games this week for 805 points. He missed only the Dallas/St. Louis game, but doubled last night's Baltimore win to cap a strong weekend. This was a week when picking a complete slate of home teams would have earned you 12 wins and 641 points. Not enough homers were picked, though, as negative results outnumbered positive tallies by almost 3:1 this weekend.

Today is the last day to become a GuruPatron if you want to be eligible for a GuruPatron prize in football pickoff. Ten GuruPatrons are glad that they followed through prior to the baseball season, as they will win a GuruPatron prize for baseball. And I'll also offer some sort of GuruPatron incentive for Hoops. Stay tuned.

Special kudos to Gurupies who excelled in the various baseball games this year. I'll be figuring out the new RotoGuru Hall of Fame enshrinees and notifying those individuals later this week. Congrats also to the GuruPatron division, which once again finished strong to rank as the top division in TSN Ultimate Baseball. Other RotoGuru dominated divisions also challenged well, including the RotoGuru Belly division, which battled the GuruPatrons neck-and-neck throughout. There was no prize for the top division, but the bragging rights are "priceless". By the way, I will be setting up a GuruPatron division for TSN Ultimate Hoops again, as we have a title to defend there. GuruPatrons will be invited to participate via email once I set it up.

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