It's a good day to be a racing fan. The NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers bring their act to one of the world's most famous tracks, Indianapolis Motor Speedway. And the People's Pitstop has a good chance to retake the lead in the 9beersfantasysportstavern standings.
All you need now to round out your Sunday is a dose of predictions about which drivers will finish in the top 10. Our most recent forecasts (two weeks ago, back when the National Football League still had its head up its rectum) went 2-2, leaving us with a season record of 22-46.
One from the front: The numbers are trending in Kurt Busch's favor. He has finished in the top 10 in three of the last four Sprint Cup races. He currently sits third in driver points -- only 11 behind leader Carl Edwards. And he starts fourth this week, making him the top driver not starting for the People's Pitstop.
One from the back: The statistics for this week's bottom 10 starters are almost as sad as the attendance forecasts for this race. Almost by default, we're going with David Gilliland, who starts 37th and does have a pair of top 10 finishes this season, including a third-place finish at the Daytona 500.
Two from the middle: Denny Hamlin, who starts 14th, is a good pick for several reasons. For one thing, he finished third in our last race at New Hampshire. For another thing, he sits in 10th place in points, and he probably doesn't want to take his chances with a wild card. Staying in the top 10 would allow him not to worry about whether one win is going to be enough to secure the last Chase spot.
And since we're in Indianapolis, we have to give our final selection spot to Casey Mears. After all, the Mears family has a pretty strong history on this track. (Admittedly, Mears made this pick easier by qualifying 11th.)
Enjoy ESPN's first race of this Sprint Cup season. We'll be back with the results.
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Saturday, July 30, 2011
The People's Choice - Indianapolis
Sorry this post is late. Guess that "holding out for a new contract" idea was pretty lame.
Anyway, you, the Internet, were asked to select the People's Pitstop roster for Sunday's Sprint Cup race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. And, as we shall see shortly, you did a heck of a job with your selections.
A List: Two former winners on this track dominated this poll. Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon got to qualify their way into the starting lineup. Johnson took the starting spot by qualifying third, and he got the People's Pitstop 3 bonus points for doing so.
B List: The voters were all over the map this week. The top four vote-getters were Kasey Kahne, Ryan Newman, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Joey Logano. Logano (20th) edged out Earnhardt (22nd) and Newman (23rd) for one of the two starting spots. Kahne took the other one by storm. He qualified second, earning the Internet's favorite fantasy NASCAR team 5 points.
C List: This poll was the piece de resistance. For the umpteenth time, you selected David Ragan and Paul Menard for our roster. Ragan made the most of this opportunity. He put his car on the freaking pole and got us 10 bonus points.
That's right; before they even drop the green flag on this race, we have scored 18 points.
Hopefully, we can keep this dominance going during the race and with our predictions, which are coming up in the next post.
Anyway, you, the Internet, were asked to select the People's Pitstop roster for Sunday's Sprint Cup race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. And, as we shall see shortly, you did a heck of a job with your selections.
A List: Two former winners on this track dominated this poll. Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon got to qualify their way into the starting lineup. Johnson took the starting spot by qualifying third, and he got the People's Pitstop 3 bonus points for doing so.
B List: The voters were all over the map this week. The top four vote-getters were Kasey Kahne, Ryan Newman, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Joey Logano. Logano (20th) edged out Earnhardt (22nd) and Newman (23rd) for one of the two starting spots. Kahne took the other one by storm. He qualified second, earning the Internet's favorite fantasy NASCAR team 5 points.
C List: This poll was the piece de resistance. For the umpteenth time, you selected David Ragan and Paul Menard for our roster. Ragan made the most of this opportunity. He put his car on the freaking pole and got us 10 bonus points.
That's right; before they even drop the green flag on this race, we have scored 18 points.
Hopefully, we can keep this dominance going during the race and with our predictions, which are coming up in the next post.
Thursday, July 28, 2011
The First of Many Player Primers
See if you can follow us.
Donovan McNabb, having flamed out in Washington, is now heading to Minnesota, but he won't find Sidney Rice when he gets there.
The receiver is heading to Seattle, but he won't find Matt Hasselbeck when he gets there. He's agreed to play in Tennessee, where he doesn't have to worry about Vince Young stealing his job.
There is speculation that Young could land in Philadelphia, where he would have to compete with Michael Vick but wouldn't have to worry about Kevin Kolb.
Kolb (finally) got a trade to Arizona and will get to throw to Larry Fitzgerald but not, for what it's worth, to Steve Breaston.
He was sent to Kansas City, which needed receiver help after letting Chris Chambers go.
Maybe he could practice pass patterns with Carson Palmer, whose team owner is saying he won't be traded. Either he'll get to retire at what would be an unheard-of age for the rest of us, or he'll come crawling back to Cincinnati.
What will he find when he gets there? Not Chad Ochocinco. Cincinnati may not trade Palmer, but it did trade Ochocinco to New England.
In Foxboro, he'll be joined by another loudmouth, Albert Haynesworth, who was sent there, probably happily for all involved, by ... Washington.
Everybody got all that? Good.
Here's something far more straightforward. The People's Pitstop needs to select its roster tonight. You have a couple of hours left to vote in the lineup polls on your left. Help the Internet's favorite fantasy NASCAR team dominate Sunday's Sprint Cup race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Thanks.
We'll be back with the results
Donovan McNabb, having flamed out in Washington, is now heading to Minnesota, but he won't find Sidney Rice when he gets there.
The receiver is heading to Seattle, but he won't find Matt Hasselbeck when he gets there. He's agreed to play in Tennessee, where he doesn't have to worry about Vince Young stealing his job.
There is speculation that Young could land in Philadelphia, where he would have to compete with Michael Vick but wouldn't have to worry about Kevin Kolb.
Kolb (finally) got a trade to Arizona and will get to throw to Larry Fitzgerald but not, for what it's worth, to Steve Breaston.
He was sent to Kansas City, which needed receiver help after letting Chris Chambers go.
Maybe he could practice pass patterns with Carson Palmer, whose team owner is saying he won't be traded. Either he'll get to retire at what would be an unheard-of age for the rest of us, or he'll come crawling back to Cincinnati.
What will he find when he gets there? Not Chad Ochocinco. Cincinnati may not trade Palmer, but it did trade Ochocinco to New England.
In Foxboro, he'll be joined by another loudmouth, Albert Haynesworth, who was sent there, probably happily for all involved, by ... Washington.
Everybody got all that? Good.
Here's something far more straightforward. The People's Pitstop needs to select its roster tonight. You have a couple of hours left to vote in the lineup polls on your left. Help the Internet's favorite fantasy NASCAR team dominate Sunday's Sprint Cup race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Thanks.
We'll be back with the results
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
What Hype Can You Believe?
Now that the NFL teams are scrambling like mad to get ready for their season, like a student putting together a term paper the night before its due date, we, the fans, are going to get inundated with all sorts of stories and reports. Unfortunately, most of them will feature the words "sources say" or "reportedly."
True, a few of the NFL items of the last 24 hours have been concrete announcements, but they have been the types of items that should come as a surprise to no one. (The Carolina Panthers offering Charles Johnson a long-term contract? What a shock!) But the more common stories involves things like the Denver Broncos reportedly looking to trade Kyle Orton, or the Dallas Cowboys reportedly planning to cut Marion Barber and Roy Williams, or the Tennessee Titans reportedly looking to sign Matt Hasselbeck.
The one saving grace for the fantasy football player is that you're probably not drafting your team this week. In fact, this is why it's always a good idea to hold your draft as close as is feasible to the start of the regular season. Not only do you want to know what will happen to this tidal wave of free agents, but you want to make sure your starting fantasy players do not have immediate competition for playing time because their general manager made a deal.
This is going to sound like a copout, but it's also the only strategy that makes sense right now.
Stay tuned.
True, a few of the NFL items of the last 24 hours have been concrete announcements, but they have been the types of items that should come as a surprise to no one. (The Carolina Panthers offering Charles Johnson a long-term contract? What a shock!) But the more common stories involves things like the Denver Broncos reportedly looking to trade Kyle Orton, or the Dallas Cowboys reportedly planning to cut Marion Barber and Roy Williams, or the Tennessee Titans reportedly looking to sign Matt Hasselbeck.
The one saving grace for the fantasy football player is that you're probably not drafting your team this week. In fact, this is why it's always a good idea to hold your draft as close as is feasible to the start of the regular season. Not only do you want to know what will happen to this tidal wave of free agents, but you want to make sure your starting fantasy players do not have immediate competition for playing time because their general manager made a deal.
This is going to sound like a copout, but it's also the only strategy that makes sense right now.
Stay tuned.
Monday, July 25, 2011
FINALLY!!!
Yes, football fans, your long, tedious nightmare is over.
The National Football League players and owners figured out that they needed each other, after all. As a result, we will have a full NFL season this fall. We will have all our preseason games except the Hall of Fame Game. We will have a full off-season of signings, trades and cuts squeezed into a period of about six days. (Hope you can speed read.)
And we will have a full slate of fantasy football. Details on that will come in a future post.
Every football fan who heard about the agreement probably felt, for at least a moment, like setting off fireworks or cracking open the champagne. But then you realize something. This wasn't a grand or noble achievement. This wasn't the curing of polio or Apollo 11 or the death of Osama bin Laden. This is a deal that the players and owners could have reached months ago, saving the fans a lot of indigestion in the process.
And in the end, we, the fans, will do what we always do in these situations. We will take these players and teams back as if nothing ever happened. There will be no serious boycotts or strikes or pie-throwing campaigns on our part. The players won't pay a real price for this. Neither will the owners. The Pro Football Hall of Fame (beneficiary of the only canceled game) and a lot of laid-off workers, none of whom ever made it onto a fantasy squad, are the only ones who will pay a legitimate price for what happened over the past few months.
We're just happy to have football again.
The first preseason game isn't for a couple of weeks, but we have a NASCAR race this weekend. And we have a lineup to fill for the People's Pitstop. If you haven't done so already, take a moment now to vote for the drivers you think we should use at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Thanks.
We'll be back with more fantasy news as soon as we can get it.
The National Football League players and owners figured out that they needed each other, after all. As a result, we will have a full NFL season this fall. We will have all our preseason games except the Hall of Fame Game. We will have a full off-season of signings, trades and cuts squeezed into a period of about six days. (Hope you can speed read.)
And we will have a full slate of fantasy football. Details on that will come in a future post.
Every football fan who heard about the agreement probably felt, for at least a moment, like setting off fireworks or cracking open the champagne. But then you realize something. This wasn't a grand or noble achievement. This wasn't the curing of polio or Apollo 11 or the death of Osama bin Laden. This is a deal that the players and owners could have reached months ago, saving the fans a lot of indigestion in the process.
And in the end, we, the fans, will do what we always do in these situations. We will take these players and teams back as if nothing ever happened. There will be no serious boycotts or strikes or pie-throwing campaigns on our part. The players won't pay a real price for this. Neither will the owners. The Pro Football Hall of Fame (beneficiary of the only canceled game) and a lot of laid-off workers, none of whom ever made it onto a fantasy squad, are the only ones who will pay a legitimate price for what happened over the past few months.
We're just happy to have football again.
The first preseason game isn't for a couple of weeks, but we have a NASCAR race this weekend. And we have a lineup to fill for the People's Pitstop. If you haven't done so already, take a moment now to vote for the drivers you think we should use at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Thanks.
We'll be back with more fantasy news as soon as we can get it.
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Now, Where Were We?
The people who bring you this fine blog could be spending their time waiting for the National Football League owners and players to finally get their collective act together and reach an agreement. But that's turning out to be as fruitful and productive as this.
Instead, we can turn our attention back to fantasy NASCAR.
After a (mostly) uneventful week off, the Sprint Cup drivers are getting back into their cars next weekend at the famous Indianapolis Motor Speedway. And the People's Pitstop needs your help picking the drivers who will represent us there.
For those of you just joining us, here's a quick rundown of how this little experiment in fantasy democracy works.
Yahoo Sports makes its fantasy players select eight drivers each week. Two must come from the A List, which are the top 10 drivers from last season. Four must come from the B List, which are the next 15 drivers from last season. Two must come from the C List, which is made up of everyone else who gets into a NASCAR vehicle. We select these eight drivers before the qualifying session. After qualifying, we pick one of our A List drivers, two of our B List drivers and one of our C List drivers to start. We get points if a driver qualifies in the top four. We get points if our drivers lead at least one lap during the race, and we get points for how well our drivers finish. The longer our drivers can keep from doing something like this on the track, the better our odds of scoring well.
How do we pick the drivers who will represent us each week? We don't. You do.
You will see three polls on the right side of this Web page. You, the Internet, vote in those polls. We compile the results, and the drivers with the most points get picked for our roster each week (using driver points to serve as a tiebreaker). The drivers on our roster who qualify the best start for us each race.
As you can see, our team's fate is up to you. Our goal is to win the competitive 9beersfantasysportstavern league. The People's Pitstop currently sits in second place. With your help, we can leap back into first. So feel free to start voting now, and tell your friends to do the same. Thanks.
Hopefully, we'll be back with some football news.
P.S. If you look at the second poll, you'll see the words "LAST TIME" after Ryan Newman's name. That's because Yahoo allows us to start a certain driver only nine times over the course of a season. Newman has started eight times for us so far, including last week, which went particularly well. If we start him this week, he's unavailable to us the rest of the season.
Instead, we can turn our attention back to fantasy NASCAR.
After a (mostly) uneventful week off, the Sprint Cup drivers are getting back into their cars next weekend at the famous Indianapolis Motor Speedway. And the People's Pitstop needs your help picking the drivers who will represent us there.
For those of you just joining us, here's a quick rundown of how this little experiment in fantasy democracy works.
Yahoo Sports makes its fantasy players select eight drivers each week. Two must come from the A List, which are the top 10 drivers from last season. Four must come from the B List, which are the next 15 drivers from last season. Two must come from the C List, which is made up of everyone else who gets into a NASCAR vehicle. We select these eight drivers before the qualifying session. After qualifying, we pick one of our A List drivers, two of our B List drivers and one of our C List drivers to start. We get points if a driver qualifies in the top four. We get points if our drivers lead at least one lap during the race, and we get points for how well our drivers finish. The longer our drivers can keep from doing something like this on the track, the better our odds of scoring well.
How do we pick the drivers who will represent us each week? We don't. You do.
You will see three polls on the right side of this Web page. You, the Internet, vote in those polls. We compile the results, and the drivers with the most points get picked for our roster each week (using driver points to serve as a tiebreaker). The drivers on our roster who qualify the best start for us each race.
As you can see, our team's fate is up to you. Our goal is to win the competitive 9beersfantasysportstavern league. The People's Pitstop currently sits in second place. With your help, we can leap back into first. So feel free to start voting now, and tell your friends to do the same. Thanks.
Hopefully, we'll be back with some football news.
P.S. If you look at the second poll, you'll see the words "LAST TIME" after Ryan Newman's name. That's because Yahoo allows us to start a certain driver only nine times over the course of a season. Newman has started eight times for us so far, including last week, which went particularly well. If we start him this week, he's unavailable to us the rest of the season.
Thursday, July 21, 2011
The Trouble with a Lockout...
... is that it makes writing a blog about fantasy football so difficult.
As this post hits the Internet, the National Football League and its players are still fighting each other over a boatload of money. However, by the time you read this, the owners and players may or may not have voted to settle their differences and get back to doing the things that generate said money. I imagine it's a little like a pregnant woman being days away from her due date and not being able to plan a lot of things because she could go into labor at any minute.
And speaking of painful things, the lockout complicates every injury-related issue in the football world. Take Peyton Manning, who has a pain in his neck (instead of being one for many people). How seriously should the Indianapolis Colts take his pain if they don't know when the season, or even the preseason, is going to start? And how are we as fantasy players supposed to gauge the relative value of a less-than-100% Manning if we don't know how many games everyone else is going to miss because of the lockout?
Then you have all the fantasy football magazines that hit the newsstands this summer, even though so many of the typical off-season questions have been put on hold. How can you take a fantasy football magazine seriously if it can't tell you where Kevin Kolb will be playing this fall? Surely, if there had not been a lockout, the Philadelphia Eagles would have resolved that matter long ago.
Multiply that question by about a hundred, even if most of the questions would be shrugged off in the fantasy sphere (Carson Palmer? No, thanks.), and you have the recipe for massive amounts of uncertainty -- the worst enemy of a fantasy football players.
Meanwhile, we, like the folks in the opening scene of "Casablanca," sit and wait for a CBA.
And wait.
And wait.
And wait.
As this post hits the Internet, the National Football League and its players are still fighting each other over a boatload of money. However, by the time you read this, the owners and players may or may not have voted to settle their differences and get back to doing the things that generate said money. I imagine it's a little like a pregnant woman being days away from her due date and not being able to plan a lot of things because she could go into labor at any minute.
And speaking of painful things, the lockout complicates every injury-related issue in the football world. Take Peyton Manning, who has a pain in his neck (instead of being one for many people). How seriously should the Indianapolis Colts take his pain if they don't know when the season, or even the preseason, is going to start? And how are we as fantasy players supposed to gauge the relative value of a less-than-100% Manning if we don't know how many games everyone else is going to miss because of the lockout?
Then you have all the fantasy football magazines that hit the newsstands this summer, even though so many of the typical off-season questions have been put on hold. How can you take a fantasy football magazine seriously if it can't tell you where Kevin Kolb will be playing this fall? Surely, if there had not been a lockout, the Philadelphia Eagles would have resolved that matter long ago.
Multiply that question by about a hundred, even if most of the questions would be shrugged off in the fantasy sphere (Carson Palmer? No, thanks.), and you have the recipe for massive amounts of uncertainty -- the worst enemy of a fantasy football players.
Meanwhile, we, like the folks in the opening scene of "Casablanca," sit and wait for a CBA.
And wait.
And wait.
And wait.
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
As NASCAR Takes a Timeout
New Hampshire is known as the Granite State, so you could say that the People's Pitstop had a solid weekend at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
The Internet's favorite fantasy NASCAR team scored 282 points during Sunday's Sprint Cup race. The season total is now 5,154. We remain in second place in the always-competitive 9beersfantasysportstavern league on Yahoo Sports, trailing Jeff Gordon Dupont 24 by 93 points. Translation: We are still within range of the lead, but we haven't made up any ground.
Here are the detailed results.
Kevin Harvick: Started 18th, finished 21st and 50 fantasy points. It must be hard to pass drivers when you're wearing handcuffs.
Ryan Newman: Started 1st, finished 1st, 119 laps led and 120 fantasy points. That's the maximum number of points you can get on Yahoo Sports from a single driver. It includes 10 points for winning the pole, 10 for leading a lap, 10 for leading the most laps and 90 for finishing in first place. Newman needed a win to solidify his Chase chances, and he got it. (Incidentally, Newman has only one start left for us this season, so we need to make it count.)
Clint Bowyer: Started 12th, finished 17th, 3 laps led and 68 fantasy points. Last fall's debacle on this track had to be in the back of this team's mind, but they were able to keep Bowyer on the track during a caution and gained him (and us) some bonus points for leading a lap.
Paul Menard: Started 9th, finished 24th and 44 fantasy points. As far down as he is in the points standings, especially after dropping three spots on Sunday, Menard is going to need a win and the equivalent of a Hail Mary to get into the Chase.
But he won't get much of a chance to do anything this week. NASCAR is giving the Sprint Cup folks the week off. The next race will be July 31 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The lineup polls will return this weekend. In the meantime, we have a poll about the still-lingering NFL lockout. There may be a resolution soon, but we are going to take the "Believe it when they sign it" position. Feel free to vote on the poll. Thanks.
The Internet's favorite fantasy NASCAR team scored 282 points during Sunday's Sprint Cup race. The season total is now 5,154. We remain in second place in the always-competitive 9beersfantasysportstavern league on Yahoo Sports, trailing Jeff Gordon Dupont 24 by 93 points. Translation: We are still within range of the lead, but we haven't made up any ground.
Here are the detailed results.
Kevin Harvick: Started 18th, finished 21st and 50 fantasy points. It must be hard to pass drivers when you're wearing handcuffs.
Ryan Newman: Started 1st, finished 1st, 119 laps led and 120 fantasy points. That's the maximum number of points you can get on Yahoo Sports from a single driver. It includes 10 points for winning the pole, 10 for leading a lap, 10 for leading the most laps and 90 for finishing in first place. Newman needed a win to solidify his Chase chances, and he got it. (Incidentally, Newman has only one start left for us this season, so we need to make it count.)
Clint Bowyer: Started 12th, finished 17th, 3 laps led and 68 fantasy points. Last fall's debacle on this track had to be in the back of this team's mind, but they were able to keep Bowyer on the track during a caution and gained him (and us) some bonus points for leading a lap.
Paul Menard: Started 9th, finished 24th and 44 fantasy points. As far down as he is in the points standings, especially after dropping three spots on Sunday, Menard is going to need a win and the equivalent of a Hail Mary to get into the Chase.
But he won't get much of a chance to do anything this week. NASCAR is giving the Sprint Cup folks the week off. The next race will be July 31 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The lineup polls will return this weekend. In the meantime, we have a poll about the still-lingering NFL lockout. There may be a resolution soon, but we are going to take the "Believe it when they sign it" position. Feel free to vote on the poll. Thanks.
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Fearless Predictions - New Hampshire
TNT has its season finale today as the NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers take on New Hampshire Motor Speedway. (For some, this will be a good thing.) The People's Pitstop isn't at the finish line yet, so we have time to take back first place in the 9beersfantasysportstavern league. We also have time to improve our record for predicting which drivers will finish in the top 10. Last week's forecasts went 2-2, leaving us with a season record of 20-44.
One from the front: Tony Stewart has all the ingredients for a strong pick. He qualified 2nd, behind only polesitter Ryan Newman (who, thanks to you, the Internet, is in our starting lineup). Stewart also has two wins on this track, and he finished second at this race last year. Finally, he sits 11th in driver points but does not have a win that would help him secure a wild card Chase spot, if necessary.
One from the back: The pickings aren't all that promising this week in the bottom 10. We'll go with Joe Nemechek, who starts 35th today and won on this track back in 1999. In fact, the victory was the first of Nemechek's career, making him one of five drivers to get his first Sprint Cup win on this track.
Two from the middle: Even if he is starting in 19th place this week, it's hard to bet against Kyle Busch these days. He leads the Sprint Cup series in driver points, and his Nationwide win on this track Saturday was the 100th of his NASCAR career.
Denny Hamlin starts in 14th place at this race, but he knows how to get to the front in New Hampshire. He finished 2nd in the fall race last year, and he beat Jeff Gordon in 2007 in the closest finish in this track's history.
Enjoy the race. We'll be back with the results.
One from the front: Tony Stewart has all the ingredients for a strong pick. He qualified 2nd, behind only polesitter Ryan Newman (who, thanks to you, the Internet, is in our starting lineup). Stewart also has two wins on this track, and he finished second at this race last year. Finally, he sits 11th in driver points but does not have a win that would help him secure a wild card Chase spot, if necessary.
One from the back: The pickings aren't all that promising this week in the bottom 10. We'll go with Joe Nemechek, who starts 35th today and won on this track back in 1999. In fact, the victory was the first of Nemechek's career, making him one of five drivers to get his first Sprint Cup win on this track.
Two from the middle: Even if he is starting in 19th place this week, it's hard to bet against Kyle Busch these days. He leads the Sprint Cup series in driver points, and his Nationwide win on this track Saturday was the 100th of his NASCAR career.
Denny Hamlin starts in 14th place at this race, but he knows how to get to the front in New Hampshire. He finished 2nd in the fall race last year, and he beat Jeff Gordon in 2007 in the closest finish in this track's history.
Enjoy the race. We'll be back with the results.
Saturday, July 16, 2011
The People's Choice - New Hampshire
As we approach the dog days of summer and the end of qualifying for the Chase, the People's Pitstop has reason to be optimistic.
The Internet's favorite fantasy NASCAR team sits just outside first place heading into Sunday's Sprint Cup race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. But thanks to you, the Internet, we have a strong team taking the track this week.
A List: Once again, this poll came down to a qualifying showdown between Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick. This time, Harvick won the faceoff by qualifying 18th, just one spot in front of Busch, so he will make his first start for us this season.
B List: Four of the usual suspects won the right to qualify from this list: Dale Earnhardt Jr., Ryan Newman, Clint Bowyer and A.J Allmendinger. Bowyer's 12th-place put him ahead of Earnhardt and Allmendinger, but Newman put himself in front of everybody. That's right; he won the freaking pole! And we get 10 bonus points for seeing it coming.
C List: You, the Internet, have decided that David Ragan and Paul Menard will share this starting spot until they run out of chances. This week, it's Menard's turn; he qualified 9th.
We'll be back with the weekly predictions.
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Another Poll Needs Your Vote
The people who bring you this fine fantasy Web site did not watch the Espys on Tuesday night.
But that's OK; Golden Tate watched enough of it for all of us.
The young Seattle Seahawks receiver was watching the ESPN award show and saw the nominees for Best Male Athlete. In addition to eventual winner Dirk Nowitzki, the nominees included an old friend of ours: Jimmie Johnson.
Tate responded the way lots of people respond to such news these days. He sent out a message on Twitter:
"Jimmy Johnson up for best athlete???? Um nooo .. Driving a car does not show athleticism"
Of course, Tate later erased that message from his Twitter page. (That's one of the real drawbacks of Twitter. It's too easy to say something and then pretend later that you didn't say it.) But it drew attention to an age-old question: Are NASCAR drivers really athletes?
The Internet took the story and ran with it. They even set up a poll asking its fans whether Tate was right. As of 8 p.m. Thursday night, we NASCAR fans were losing. That's why we need you, the Internet, to come to the defense of Johnson and all his fellow NASCAR drivers. If it's not too late, visit that poll, and see if we can't turn it around.
As for Mr. Tate and his comparison of athletes, we can offer this from a fantasy perspective. As of Thursday, Jimmie Johnson is sixth in Yahoo fantasy points among Sprint Cup drivers. Last season, Tate ranked 120th in ESPN fantasy points among wide receivers.
So we've got this going for us; Johnson is a better fantasy athlete than Tate.
Oh, and once you're down turning that poll around, don't forget to vote in the polls for the People's Pitstop lineup. We need to set our lineup on Thursday night, so please vote now.
We'll be back with the results.
But that's OK; Golden Tate watched enough of it for all of us.
The young Seattle Seahawks receiver was watching the ESPN award show and saw the nominees for Best Male Athlete. In addition to eventual winner Dirk Nowitzki, the nominees included an old friend of ours: Jimmie Johnson.
Tate responded the way lots of people respond to such news these days. He sent out a message on Twitter:
"Jimmy Johnson up for best athlete???? Um nooo .. Driving a car does not show athleticism"
Of course, Tate later erased that message from his Twitter page. (That's one of the real drawbacks of Twitter. It's too easy to say something and then pretend later that you didn't say it.) But it drew attention to an age-old question: Are NASCAR drivers really athletes?
The Internet took the story and ran with it. They even set up a poll asking its fans whether Tate was right. As of 8 p.m. Thursday night, we NASCAR fans were losing. That's why we need you, the Internet, to come to the defense of Johnson and all his fellow NASCAR drivers. If it's not too late, visit that poll, and see if we can't turn it around.
As for Mr. Tate and his comparison of athletes, we can offer this from a fantasy perspective. As of Thursday, Jimmie Johnson is sixth in Yahoo fantasy points among Sprint Cup drivers. Last season, Tate ranked 120th in ESPN fantasy points among wide receivers.
So we've got this going for us; Johnson is a better fantasy athlete than Tate.
Oh, and once you're down turning that poll around, don't forget to vote in the polls for the People's Pitstop lineup. We need to set our lineup on Thursday night, so please vote now.
We'll be back with the results.
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
It's Nice to Feel Wanted
The folks who run the NFL may or may not be ready to play football again, but we at the People's Pigskin are ready to start talking about it once they get their heads out of here.
In the meantime, it's time to thank some people.
The People's Pigskin takes part in a fantasy football league that was organized a few years ago by Jack Cone, who runs the 9beersfantasysportstavern social networking site. (Feel free to take a look, but keep in mind that it definitely falls into the NSFW category.) A few weeks ago, Jack contacted me to let us know that he has his league ready to go whenever the lockout lifts. He also had this to say:
"it was important
to me that you read how much people like your fantasy predictions,
this is just one, put a few others have asked if that "predictions guy"
is coming back... outside of death, he won't be stopped ! ! "
He attached an e-mail he had received from another fantasy football player, who had told him:
"I look forward to the season and hope that the guy you had last year with the predictions returns"
That would be us. And even though our predictions sometimes fare about as well as pinning a tail on a donkey, it's good to know that someone is enjoying them.
It's also good to know that people are voting in the lineup polls. Quick reminder: You have until Thursday evening to pick the drivers for this weekend's NASCAR Sprint Cup race in New Hampshire. Pick 2 drivers from the A List, 4 from the B List and 2 from the C List. That's it.
And thanks for reading.
In the meantime, it's time to thank some people.
The People's Pigskin takes part in a fantasy football league that was organized a few years ago by Jack Cone, who runs the 9beersfantasysportstavern social networking site. (Feel free to take a look, but keep in mind that it definitely falls into the NSFW category.) A few weeks ago, Jack contacted me to let us know that he has his league ready to go whenever the lockout lifts. He also had this to say:
"it was important
to me that you read how much people like your fantasy predictions,
this is just one, put a few others have asked if that "predictions guy"
is coming back... outside of death, he won't be stopped ! ! "
He attached an e-mail he had received from another fantasy football player, who had told him:
"I look forward to the season and hope that the guy you had last year with the predictions returns"
That would be us. And even though our predictions sometimes fare about as well as pinning a tail on a donkey, it's good to know that someone is enjoying them.
It's also good to know that people are voting in the lineup polls. Quick reminder: You have until Thursday evening to pick the drivers for this weekend's NASCAR Sprint Cup race in New Hampshire. Pick 2 drivers from the A List, 4 from the B List and 2 from the C List. That's it.
And thanks for reading.
Monday, July 11, 2011
Back in the Groove
It certainly isn't saying much, but the People's Pitstop had a much better Saturday night than many of the people who had tickets to the race at Kentucky Speedway.
While lots of fans were wondering why NASCAR hates them, the Internet's favorite fantasy racing team was racking up 302 points. We remain in second place in the 9beersfantasysportstavern league with a season total of 4,872, but we now trail Jeff Gordon Dupont 24 by only 86 points.
Here's how we got there.
Kyle Busch: Started 1st, finished 1st, 125 laps led and 110 fantasy points. It's been a while since any driver dominated a Sprint Cup race the way Busch did. It's also been a while since a Busch sat at the top of the point standings, but he's there now.
Clint Bowyer: Started 20th, finished 35th and 22 fantasy points. You could be forgiven for thinking Bowyer got caught in traffic on the way to the track. And if the Sporting News is to be believed, he's in danger of getting caught on the outside of the Chase.
Ryan Newman: Started 18th, finished 4th and 84 fantasy points. Newman, on the other hand, solidified his status in the top 10 with his best performance of the season.
David Ragan: Started 8th, finished 8th, 3 laps led and 86 fantasy points. Ragan followed up the first Sprint Cup win of his career by bouncing back from an early spin.
Next up for the Sprint Cup drivers is the northernmost stop on the tour: New Hampshire Motor Speedway. The qualifying session is Friday, so the polls will close on Thursday. Hopefully, the parking lots in Kentucky will be empty by then.
While lots of fans were wondering why NASCAR hates them, the Internet's favorite fantasy racing team was racking up 302 points. We remain in second place in the 9beersfantasysportstavern league with a season total of 4,872, but we now trail Jeff Gordon Dupont 24 by only 86 points.
Here's how we got there.
Kyle Busch: Started 1st, finished 1st, 125 laps led and 110 fantasy points. It's been a while since any driver dominated a Sprint Cup race the way Busch did. It's also been a while since a Busch sat at the top of the point standings, but he's there now.
Clint Bowyer: Started 20th, finished 35th and 22 fantasy points. You could be forgiven for thinking Bowyer got caught in traffic on the way to the track. And if the Sporting News is to be believed, he's in danger of getting caught on the outside of the Chase.
Ryan Newman: Started 18th, finished 4th and 84 fantasy points. Newman, on the other hand, solidified his status in the top 10 with his best performance of the season.
David Ragan: Started 8th, finished 8th, 3 laps led and 86 fantasy points. Ragan followed up the first Sprint Cup win of his career by bouncing back from an early spin.
Next up for the Sprint Cup drivers is the northernmost stop on the tour: New Hampshire Motor Speedway. The qualifying session is Friday, so the polls will close on Thursday. Hopefully, the parking lots in Kentucky will be empty by then.
Saturday, July 9, 2011
Fearless Predictions - Kentucky
Whether you're spending the weekend working on your bucket list or your honey-do list, we're glad you've taken a moment to check out our predictions for NASCAR drivers who will finish in the top 10 at Saturday night's Sprint Cup race at Kentucky Motor Speedway. Last week's forecasts went a respectable 2-2, lifting our season record to 18-42.
One from the front: Even though this is the Sprint Cup debut for Kentucky, there is still some useful history here. For example, Brad Keselowski, who starts 6th tonight, has four top-four finishes on this track in Nationwide Series races, including a win on Friday night.
One from the back: It's a good thing the rule here is to pick a driver starting in the back 10, instead of the back nine. That's because the only driver back here whom most racing fans could pick out of a police lineup is Jamie McMurray, who starts 34th.
Two from the middle: One thing that might have gotten lost in the hoopla over David Ragan's Daytona win last week was the fact that Matt Kenseth had a car good enough to push Ragan to the checkered flag. This week, Kenseth starts 13th and can focus on his own car's chances.
Two spots behind him, in 15th place, we find Joey Logano, who has both short- and long-term history on his side. In the long-term category (or as long-term as you can get with a driver who still looks like he's late for geometry class), Logano has three Nationwide wins at Kentucky. In the short-term category, he has finished in the top 10 in the last two Sprint Cup races. Either fact would be good enough to pick him.
Enjoy the race, everybody. We'll be back with results.
Friday, July 8, 2011
The People's Choice - Kentucky
For the first time in its history, NASCAR takes its Sprint Cup act to Kentucky, home of good whiskey, fast horses and scandalous basketball teams. We at the People's Pitstop are prepared, thanks to all of you who voted in our lineup polls. Now, let's see who will represent us Saturday night.
A List: This poll produced a tie between Kyle Busch and new points leader Kevin Harvick. The qualifying session was a little more definitive. Busch claimed the pole and the starting spot, while Harvick settled for 19th place.
B List: Our survey here produced a three-way tie among Clint Bowyer, Ryan Newman and Mark Martin, with A.J. Allmendinger barely behind in fourth place. "Barely behind" also could describe the qualifying results, with Newman (18th) and Bowyer (20th) edging out Allmendinger (23rd) and Martin (28th) for the starting lineup.
C List: If this were baseball, you get the feeling David Ragan and Paul Menard would have been called up to the majors by now. Once again, they dominated this week's voting, and they rewarded the voters' faith with top 10 starting spots. Ragan (8th) outqualified Menard and will represent the Internet's favorite fantasy NASCAR team on Saturday.
We'll be back with this week's predictions.
Sunday, July 3, 2011
Picking Through the Wreckage
To put it succinctly, Saturday night stank for the People's Pitstop.
The Internet's favorite fantasy NASCAR team scored only 168 points at Daytona International Speedway. This was our lowest total since ... the last time we were at Daytona. Our season total is now 4,570. And the People's Pitstop has surrendered its lead in the 9beersfantasysportstavern league to Jeff Gordon Dupont 24. We sit in second place, with a 4-point edge over SteelerFan4Tony.
You might notice a theme to this breakdown of the results.
Carl Edwards: Started 14th, finished 37th, 1 lap led and 28 fantasy points. An early spin into the inside wall put him 25 laps down and kept him there the rest of the night. It also cost him his overall points lead.
Mark Martin: Started 1st, finished 33rd, 15 laps led and 46 fantasy points. Martin actually was a contender late I'm the race, until a nudge from Joey Logano on the first green-white-checkered attempt ended his night.
Dale Earnhardt Jr.: Started 6th, finished 19th, 1 lap led and 64 fantasy points. The final-lap wreck that caught Earnhardt was bad enough. His postrace question "What kind of fricking move can you make?" about what's supposed to be one of his strongest tracks was even worse.
Bobby Labonte: Started 24th, finished 31st and 30 fantasy points. Labonte took damage in a wreck on lap 5, and his car was never the same.
The good news: There's always another week in NASCAR. This one will take us to a brand new track for the Sprint Cup folks: Kentucky. The polls are now up, and they will stay up until Thursday night. (Forgive the order. The phone being used to post this won't let us click and drag.) We need your help to have a shot at redemption, so feel free to vote now.
Saturday, July 2, 2011
Fearless Predictions - Daytona
Some traditions just make sense, like racing at Daytona on Independence Day Weekend. And then there are traditions like the People's Pitstop predictions, which we all tolerate before moving on to more pressing matters. Maybe we need to get some special help for these picks for the NASCAR drivers who will finish in the top 10. Last week's predictions went 0 for 4 (again), dropping our season record to 16-40.
In bowling, they call hitting three strikes in a row a "turkey." Is there a term for three gutter balls in a row? Let's hope we don't have to find out.
One from the front: We can't pick the polesitter, Mark Martin, because he's in our starting lineup for this week. (Thank you, voters.) However, since Daytona has become a "dance with your partner" type of track, we can pick the Hendrick Motorsports teammate who has publicly committed to pairing up with Martin. That would be Jeff Gordon, who starts in 4th place and should have little trouble finding Martin.
One from the back: Kyle Busch had a dreadful qualifying session. He will start in 38th place, but he has won this race before. Also, despite an early spin, he finished in 8th place the last time these drivers were here. If anyone can climb from the back, it's Mr. Pink Car.
Two from the middle: Jeff Burton needs to make a move -- quickly. He currently sits 24th in driver points, so he's in real danger of missing the Chase, even if he manages to win a race. Luckily, Daytona has been kind to him over the years. He has nine top 10 finishes on this track, including a 5th-place finish in this race last year. He also starts in 12th place on Saturday.
Kurt Busch has already made his move. He didn't just win last week's road race at Sonoma; he dominated it. He starts in 25th place for this race, but he has finished in the top 10 in a dozen Daytona races, including the last two straight.
Enjoy the race and the holiday, and remember why we celebrate it. We'll be back with the results.
In bowling, they call hitting three strikes in a row a "turkey." Is there a term for three gutter balls in a row? Let's hope we don't have to find out.
One from the front: We can't pick the polesitter, Mark Martin, because he's in our starting lineup for this week. (Thank you, voters.) However, since Daytona has become a "dance with your partner" type of track, we can pick the Hendrick Motorsports teammate who has publicly committed to pairing up with Martin. That would be Jeff Gordon, who starts in 4th place and should have little trouble finding Martin.
One from the back: Kyle Busch had a dreadful qualifying session. He will start in 38th place, but he has won this race before. Also, despite an early spin, he finished in 8th place the last time these drivers were here. If anyone can climb from the back, it's Mr. Pink Car.
Two from the middle: Jeff Burton needs to make a move -- quickly. He currently sits 24th in driver points, so he's in real danger of missing the Chase, even if he manages to win a race. Luckily, Daytona has been kind to him over the years. He has nine top 10 finishes on this track, including a 5th-place finish in this race last year. He also starts in 12th place on Saturday.
Kurt Busch has already made his move. He didn't just win last week's road race at Sonoma; he dominated it. He starts in 25th place for this race, but he has finished in the top 10 in a dozen Daytona races, including the last two straight.
Enjoy the race and the holiday, and remember why we celebrate it. We'll be back with the results.
Friday, July 1, 2011
The People's Choice - Daytona
Another week is over. Many of us are planning our fireworks viewing and cookout grilling (hopefully not in the same place), but enough of you took the trouble to vote in our polls that the People's Pitstop has a full and complete lineup for Saturday. Here are the NASCAR drivers who will represent the Internet's favorite fantasy racing team at Daytona International Speedway.
A List: Carl Edwards lapped the field in this poll, while Kevin Harvick edged out the other votegetters by virtue of the points tiebreaker. When it came time to qualify, Edwards (14th place) lapped Harvick again (31st) and earned the starting spot.
B List: Dale Earnhardt Jr. easily won this poll, outpacing runner-up Martin Truex Jr. and tiebreaker winners Mark Martin and Ryan Newman. Earnhardt has a well-earned reputation for winning with restrictor plates, and his 6th-place qualifying effort pushed Newman (11th) and Truex (34th) to the bench. But Martin just keeps on ticking; he won the pole for Saturday's race and earned 10 bonus points for the People's Pitstop.
C List: This poll ended in a dead heat between Regan Smith and Bobby Labonte. The qualifying session almost produced the same result. Labonte put up the 24th-fastest time, just four places ahead of Smith, and will start for us as a result.
We'll be back with the predictions for the Daytona night race.
A List: Carl Edwards lapped the field in this poll, while Kevin Harvick edged out the other votegetters by virtue of the points tiebreaker. When it came time to qualify, Edwards (14th place) lapped Harvick again (31st) and earned the starting spot.
B List: Dale Earnhardt Jr. easily won this poll, outpacing runner-up Martin Truex Jr. and tiebreaker winners Mark Martin and Ryan Newman. Earnhardt has a well-earned reputation for winning with restrictor plates, and his 6th-place qualifying effort pushed Newman (11th) and Truex (34th) to the bench. But Martin just keeps on ticking; he won the pole for Saturday's race and earned 10 bonus points for the People's Pitstop.
C List: This poll ended in a dead heat between Regan Smith and Bobby Labonte. The qualifying session almost produced the same result. Labonte put up the 24th-fastest time, just four places ahead of Smith, and will start for us as a result.
We'll be back with the predictions for the Daytona night race.
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