Tomorrow’s Waiver Wire Targets
These players should be on your hitlist for fantasy football this week
1. Kenny Britt Titans (WR)
Britt exploded on the national scene Sunday. If you are first in line on the waiver wire then be sure to pick up Kenny Britt. Britt has number 1 receiver abilities and seems very similar to Miles Austin of last year.
2. Brandon Jackson Packers (RB)
Fantasy owners (myself included) gave up on Jackson too quickly. He has posted 2 good games in back to back weeks and has some valuable in PPR formats. If you are looking for a number 3 running back, you should pick up Jackson.
3. Jordan Shipley Bengals (WR)
T.O. and OchoCinco both had good receiving days yesterday but did not lead the team in receiving yards. Jordan Shipley did with 5 catches for 131 yards and a touchdown. The Bengals defense is horrible so the team will likely be involved in a number of shootouts this year.
4. Steve Johnson Bills (WR)
6 receptions, 158 yards and a touchdown are a good Sunday for most receivers. Johnson is quietly on pace for a 1,000 yard receiving season.
5. LeGarrette Blount Buccaneers (RB)
Cadillac Williams days as the number one back are clearly numbered. Blount ran with power and authority against a decent Rams defense. Blount is nice RB3 fill in if one of your backs has a bye week approaching.
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The Yankees Number One Offseason Target
The Yankees got clubbed again last night by the Texas Rangers. 10-3 last night. Texas has a commanding 3 games to 1 lead in the series and the Yankees are on the verge of elimination. Even if the Yankees can somehow win Game 5 tonight, they still face the prospect of seeing Rangers ace Cliff Lee again. This series is over. There is no way that the Yanks beats Lee in this series. This brings me to my point. The Yankees number one offseason target this offseason should be Rangers lefty Cliff Lee.
Lee is a beast in the postseason. He is 7-0 in the Fall Classic and is a Yankees killer. The Yankees should sign him for no other reason than to keep from facing him in the postseason. He has been the proverbial thorn in the side of the Bronx Bombers for the last few years. The second reason to sign Lee is the pitching staff needs help. After C.C. Sabathia, the Yankees do not have one top line starter in the rotation. Phil Hughes is not a number 2 pitcher. A.J. Burnett is just plain awful and Andy Pettite is likely done after this season. If the Yankees want to make one or two more postseason runs while their core is still together then they need to make Cliff Lee an incredibly wealthy man.
NFL Labor Strike Is Coming
This post was originally published by me on Buy Like Buffett.
Sports leagues are beginning to suffer as corporate sponsors are pulling dollars due to the slumping economy. The NBA has already laid off 80 employees. MLB recently laid off 4 percent of its staff. The Arena Football League is planning on suspending its entire 2009 season due to financial hardships. The economy is hitting NASCAR especially hard as corporate sponsors such as GM are cutting back on advertising. Honda Motor Corp has pulled completely out of Formula One Racing. The PGA Tour has lost major sponsors. The NFL has just announced that it is cutting 150 jobs.
Let’s look at the NFL, king of all sports, to see just how the economy is impacting sports leagues. Over the past 10 years revenue and ticket prices for the NFL have risen to unprecedented amounts. According to Bloomberg, the NFL makes approximately $7 billion dollars in revenue annually from its television contracts, sponsorship agreements, ticket and merchandise sales. NFL television contracts have led to bidding wars between networks due to the NFL’s mass appeal. The average ticket price has risen 8% from the previous year. Sounds great. So, what’s the problem?
With the slumping economy, merchandise and ticket sales have slowed as fans have cut back on non essential spending. Corporations are cutting back on luxury box purchases and stadium naming right deals. Advertising sales are taking the biggest hit as automobile makers and financial service companies have been the largest sponsors of sports leagues. The problem for the NFL and other sports leagues is that all of these events will surely take a big chunk out of their revenue.
This may force sports leagues like the NFL to undertake dramatic steps to maintain revenue. I expect that leagues will be forced to cut ticket prices. The average price for a family of four to attend a football game is about $400. This is not realistic in a recessionary environment. Teams will have to cut prices in order to sell season tickets, merchandise and fill stadium seats. I expect leagues to make an attempt at reducing player salaries in upcoming labor agreements. The NFL is currently trying to renegotiate their labor contracts set to expire in 2010. The NFL is trying to reduce its largest fixed operating expense which is player salaries. Player salaries amount to 4.5 billion annually which accounts for 60% of all revenue. In a league of variable revenue decreasing fixed expenses is paramount.
The biggest fixed expense that can be cut is players salaries. Owners are not going to give in until they get players to take a much larger slice of the revenue share. Players are not going to cave in to owner pressure. They do not want to take a pay cut or have an additional 2 games added to the season. This strike looks like it could last for awhile.
5 Fantasy Football Wide Receivers With Upside Potential
Are you in need of a wide receiver to bolster your receiving corps? If so, there are still some good wide outs available in most formats. Just because a player is not a big name does not mean that they can not contribute to your fantasy football team.
Here are 5 players that could help you in the next few weeks.
Mike Williams (WR) Buccaneers
Surprisingly, Mike Williams is only owned in 50% of Fantasy Football leagues. Despite being a rookie, Williams has the size, speed, and athletic ability to be a superstar wide receiver. He has been a reliable wide receiver through the first 5 weeks of the season.
Steve Breaston (WR) Cardinals
Steve Breaston was dropped by a lot of owners after suffering an injury in Week 4 of the season. Breaston is owned in under 60% of leagues. He put up good numbers in Week 1 and Week 3 before getting hurt. That was with Derek Anderson playing quarterback. Now with rookie Max Hall under center, Breaston’s numbers could increase as the Cardinals have finally found their passing attack.
Jabar Gaffney (WR) Broncos
Every Broncos wide receiver should be owned in all leagues. Gaffney is owned in just 38% of all leagues despite an impressive 3 week stretch. He has 26 catches in his last 3 games and is turning into a consistently weekly performer.
Kenny Britt (WR) Titans
Three straight games with a touchdown and he is still owned in just 56% of fantasy football leagues. Britt is finally starting to show the immense talent that he has. If he plays up to his talent, Britt is a double digit fantasy producer.
Mike Thomas (WR) Jacksonville
Thomas is owned in just 9% of leagues despite outproducing Mike Simms-Walker. If I could only start one Jacksonville receiver on my team, my pick would be Mike Thomas.
Favre Should Have Stayed Retired
After watching Favre struggle Monday night against the Jets for the better part of three quarters; one thing became painfully obvious. Brett Favre should have stay retired. The problem with the Vikings team is not the defense or the wide receivers; it’s Favre. The Vikings still have a Super Bowl caliber defense that has kept the team in games when the offense has played horribly. They have the best running back in the game. They have a plethora of weapons at wide receiver and tight end. The Vikings problem is that Favre looks every bit of 41 years old this season. He is back to being the turnover machine that he was earlier in his career.
This past offseason the team should have parted ways with number 4 and started over with a new quarterback. I am not suggesting that Tavaris Jackson should have been given the keys to the engine. The team should have looked east to Philadelphia and picked up Donovan McNabb. McNabb is working wonders in Washington with a receiving corps that consist of Santana Moss, Anthony Armstrong, Joey Galloway, and Roydell Williams. The team has no running game to speak of and an average defense.
Do you need further proof? Favre is the 30th rated quarterback in the NFL. He is on pace to throw a ridiculous 28 interceptions. He has a quarterback rating of 67. Favre’s ppor play has forced the defense has been on the field way too long against the Saints, Dolphins, and Jets. The Vikings made their bed and now have to lie in it. They have no choice but to ride out the season with Favre. The Vikings made a terrible mistake in assuming that they could just pick up where they left off in the 2010 season. As the Saints and Colts have proven this season, every year is a new year.
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