Recommended Thursday Night Reading

(First, a quick NASCAR note: Remember the other day, when I wrote that Clint Bowyer was a legitimate contender to dethrone Jimmie Johnson as the Sprint Cup champion, as long as he kept passing inspections? Um ... never mind.)

Here are a few links for you fantasy football fans to peruse while you wait for the weekend to arrive.

Yes, the first one is about kickers. Deal with it. I'm sure somebody out there lost a fantasy football game because of what happened to Graham Gano. He was the Washington Redskins kicker who kicked what should have been the game-winning field goal Sunday against Houston, only Gary Kubiak called timeout, forcing Gano to rekick (and miss).

More than a few people are thinking "There ought to be a rule against that sort of thing." But according to the Wall Street Journal, that might not be necessary. The Journal studied NFL kicks attempted since 2000 in overtime or the last two minutes of regulation, and it found kickers are more likely to make their kicks if the opposing coach uses the old "icing the kicker" trick.

Of course, that's cold comfort for those who lost the game thanks to Gano's miss and/or Neil Rackers' subsequent game-winning kick.

So let me get this straight ... The Oakland Raiders are smart for calling on Bruce Gradkowski to start in Week 3 over a healthy Jason Campbell, but the Philadelphia Eagles are crazy for calling on Michael Vick to start in Week 3 over a now-healthy Kevin Kolb? In the immortal words of Chevy Chase, can I get a ruling on this?

(Here's your ruling: Start Vick if you have him. Wait and see on Gradkowski.)

The dummy factor. As long as it involves NFL players, fantasy football will always have to deal with situations like Braylon Edwards' DWI arrest -- which, before we go on, was despicable, especially given the program that the team offers to its players precisely to prevent things like this from happening.

The courts will have their say on the matter in due time, and Roger Goodell may or may not wait until then to render his verdict. In the meantime, the New York Jets have a game to play Sunday night, and their plans for Edwards remain murky. The team has said he won't start but will play against the Dolphins. That could mean he'll miss the first series but will play the rest of the game. It could mean he could make a token appearance in the fourth quarter. It could mean anything in between.

For fantasy players, it means that, in addition to getting ready for the possibility of a suspension down the road, they have to consider Edwards less of an effective option than he would have been as a starter.

All because he didn't pick up his phone and say, "Can I get a lift?"

Please vote now on the NASCAR polls. They will close in a few hours, so we can set the People's Pitstop lineup in time for Friday's qualifying session. We'll be back with the results.